The Second Meeting
by akakurogin
Summary: COMPLETE A year later, as freshmen in high school, Oshitari Yuushi and Yagyuu Hiroshi meet again. For LJ comm 30kisses. May be difficult for preteens to understand. YuuTari, AtoTari, AtoJi, ShishiTori, etc.
1. Theme 1: look over here

Title: The Second Meeting  
Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

Notes: Sorry, this is kind of boring-ish - it's setting up the storyline. It gets more interesting, I promise.

* * *

He wasn't quite sure when it happened. Maybe it was nationals the year prior, maybe it was the Kantou Regionals. In any case, Oshitari found himself anxiously awaiting this year's newcomers' tournament for the high school division, aware that it might be the only time this year he'd get to play a match against the Rikkai first years. 

The transition from junior high to senior high wasn't a very big deal for him, or his teammates. All the former Regulars continued onto Hyoutei's high school division, and as far as he'd heard, so had all of the Rikkai third years entered Rikkai's high school. It was reminiscent of his first year in junior high. Even Atobe resigned himself to not being on the Regulars team, after having lost to the captain in a practice match. Unlike junior high though, their practices as first years consisted of training with and playing against each other most of the time, sometimes playing against the second or third years for a change of pace on both sides.

He pushed his glasses higher up on his nose as they entered the same courts the junior high Kantou Regionals had been. Of course Atobe walked in front - Atobe never followed anyone - but it was kind of strange to not see the looming figure of Kabaji following, a sleeping Jirou draped over his shoulder. Instead, Jirou was now forced to walk on his own, though he seemed to enjoy leaning on Atobe as he walked, eyes closed. Briefly, he saw Atobe give Jirou a small smile, and was that a light kiss on the top of his head? before slowing his pace ever so slightly.

It hurt, a little, to think that Atobe now smiled at Jirou like that, but not as much as it had two years ago, when they had been second years and Atobe had declared a breakup. Atobe needed to be needed, that's just the way he was. Jirou needed someone to take care of him. They fit perfectly. Oshitari was independent - he couldn't rely on Atobe the way Atobe wanted, and that was that.

A familiar flash of blue, white and red caught his eye, and Oshitari turned to see Seigaku, also heading to the registration table. Tezuka Kunimitsu, the individual that won singles one at the nationals' finals, was unmistakably ready to lead his team to another victory.

Atobe walked straight to the front of the table, bypassing some team with a green uniform, and handed a piece of paper to the organizer behind it. The Hyoutei team stood off to the side, a little bit strange without Ohtori, Kabaji, or Hiyoshi. They would be in the crowds watching though; Shishido mentioned yesterday that Ohtori had promised to be there. No doubt that was whom Shishido was looking for, right now, Oshitari thought with a slight smile, watching the shorter boy turning a full three sixty, looking off in the distance somewhere. Oshitari let his gaze wander a bit more discreetly, looking for the beige uniforms that would indicate Rikkai's presence.

"Yukimura-kun, what a pleasure to see you in uniform again. Are you going to be singles one today?" Come to think of it, Oshitari wasn't even sure why he was so anxious to see the Rikkai team. It wasn't like he was close enough to anyone on the team to actually start a conversation with them. Atobe, on the other hand, clearly felt at ease talking to anyone he so chose to. Turning, Oshitari's heart beat faster as beige entered his peripheral vision, then gained focus as he faced the Rikkai team.

"Ah! Marui-kun, you're here too!" Jirou was suddenly full of energy, excitedly chattering to an amused yet slightly bewildered pink haired genius about volley training techniques. Oshitari smiled at the scene and shook his head - Jirou would never change. In doing so, though, he saw, from around the left rim of his glasses, a flash of tan hair only a few shades darker than his uniform.

Yagyuu Hiroshi.

Oshitari Yuushi didn't often succumb to temptation, but this time, he did. Turning his head slightly, he got his first clear view of Yagyuu since nationals, where his Laser had all but single handedly destroyed Gakuto's game. The tall, skinny boy stood perfectly straight, arms crossed over his chest as he smiled as his captain. His silver-headed partner, Niou, was standing a bit behind him, staring directly back at Oshitari with a smirk that made Oshitari worry, just a bit. Oops.

He quickly looked away, trying to focus again on what Atobe and Yukimura were discussing. Apparently by now, Atobe had dragged Tezuka into the conversation, and they were discussing holding some practice matches on weekends when the Regulars would be playing actual matches, to stay in shape or something. Atobe maybe didn't seem like it often, but there were reasons to his being their captain - he did tend to look out for the team's best interest, though mostly in covert ways, for some unknown reason.

"Oshitari Yuushi," a voice behind him said. He turned, responding in form. "Niou Masaharu."

"We will be playing each other today." It was irritating how there were lingering traces of evil in Niou's smile, and a matching glint in his eyes.

"How interesting," he responded.

"Hey Hiroshi!" Niou called, eyes never leaving Oshitari's face, seemingly taking careful note of every muscle that moved in response to Yagyuu's first name. Yagyuu finally turned from observing the hyperactive volley pair and walked over. "Yes? Hello, Oshitari-kun. I hope you're doing well." Oshitari could only nod a response.

"What was this guy's weakness, again? I've forgotten."

"That's not polite, Niou."

"But I'm playing him; I want to know."

"It's still not polite. Look, Yukimura's calling us. Let's go. See you later, Oshitari-kun." Swiftly, Yagyuu had his partner by the shirt sleeve and was leading him back to where the Rikkai team was gathering.

Oshitari was annoyed. He was both annoyed and angry. Niou was clearly trying to provoke him - at which he succeeded, an unwelcome voice in the back of his mind pointed out - but Yagyuu hadn't even cared about him. Yagyuu's statement showed both respect for Oshitari's skills, but the way he said it also clearly indicated his belief that Oshitari would be no challenge to Niou, whether or not Niou knew his weaknesses. Well, he would just have to prove them wrong. Determination was part of the game, too, and they'd just ignited his desire to win, to put himself on their rival radar.

Before the tournament was over, he would make sure they looked at him as more than just another prodigy.


	2. Theme 2: news letter

Title: Polite Conversation is a Lot Like Catching Up   
Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.  
Notes: Um... oh yea. We're in that alternate reality where homosexuality is accepted as equally as heterosexuality, because I like it better that way.

* * *

He didn't particularly look forward to his match that afternoon with Niou. The tournament worked as a kind of round robin - teams didn't play off against each other, and everyone played singles. Everyone would play one person from every other school. Oshitari's first match was against St. Rudolph's Mizuki Hajime. He won six-two - he'd been a tad too careless in the beginning, and Mizuki had definitely improved since they'd last played at the prefecturals consolation match almost a year ago. It was tough already, he realized. No one at the tournament had enjoyed their losses the year prior, and no one would stand a loss, even at this supposedly relaxed tournament. 

Oshitari carefully wrote in the scores for his game on the board next to reg, and noticed that Atobe, Shishido and Jirou had all won their matches, six-love. He hadn't heard of any of their opponents before, but that didn't matter much. All of the Rikkai members had won their matches six-love, with the exception of Marui Bunta, whose game with Gakuto was still going. That was an interesting match, he noted, before sauntering off in the direction of the C courts, where Jirou had surely dragged Atobe and Shishido to watch Marui's match.

Sure enough, he saw Jirou's excitedly bouncing yellow head the second he turned the corner and the C courts came into sight. "Are you cheering for Gakuto, or for Marui now, Jirou?" he asked, smiling. Rikkai was standing on the other side of Atobe, who was talking with Yukimura and Sanada - probably bragging about how easily he won his match, Oshitari thought wryly.

Jirou stopped hopping up and down long enough to think. "Marui-san!" he ended up chirping, before returning his attention to the game. Sometimes, Oshitari really wondered if they were the same age.

"Oshitari-kun, how was your match?" Yagyuu, ever the polite one, was clearly just trying to make conversation. But that didn't matter, if they were able to talk. He could study the boy some more that way.

"It was OK. I started off kind of weak, I think - didn't expect Mizuki to have improved so much. How was your's?" There was no need to go into detail about his match - not if Niou was staring at them with that unnerving smile, as though he had sent Yagyuu to collect data for him or something. Even though that was clearly not the case - Niou didn't play with data, he just played with other people's data on him - he still didn't feel like describing the match in detail, as he otherwise might have done.

"A little too easy. I didn't even use the Laser," Yagyuu replied. "My opponent put up a good effort though, for someone who just started playing competitively last year."

"I see. So how has the match been going between those two?" he asked, tilting his head towards the courts to indicate their teammates.

"Game, Rikkaidai, Marui, four games to two," the referee conveniently called out just then.

"There you go," Yagyuu said. He seemed about to say more, when a familiar voice cut in.

"Shishido-san! Oshitari-senpai! Jirou-senpai! Atobe-san!" Ohtori was waving cheerfully at them, running up to Shishido. Oshitari smiled softly as the scowl formerly gracing Shishido's face was replaced by a gentler look, the word "Choutarou" inhaled as if it were more precious than air itself. "Sorry we're late; Hiyoshi thought we were meeting at the bus stop and we got sort of confused for a bit," Ohtori explained, as Hiyoshi nodded his greeting to everyone. "How was the first round?"

"Are they together?" Yagyuu queried. Oshitari nodded. Shishido and Ohtori had finally admitted their mutual attraction right after graduation, after much prodding from Gakuto and Jirou. "Interesting. I wish I had someone like that."

Oshitari's mouth practically dropped open as turned to face the taller boy. "I thought you and Niou..."

"No, Niou's my best friend," Yagyuu murmured. "He's straight."

"Oh." What did one say to something like that? "I believe Gakuto and Hiyoshi are the only straight ones on our team."

"Really? Mukahi? Never would've guessed."

"Yea, most people find it surprising."

"I'd always assumed you two were together."

Oshitari could almost feel Yagyuu's eyes burning into him. He turned away just in time to see Shishido steal a quick kiss from Ohtori. Wow. What timing he had. "No, he's just my partner," he replied, just as the referee announced the end of the match. "Game, set, Rikkaidai, Marui, six games to two."

"Wow, Marui's so great," Jirou cheered excitedly, stopping only when Gakuto scowled at him from inside the court. The OCD boy immediately yawned and started showing symptoms of falling back asleep.

"We should get back to the postings area," Sanada said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Oshitari was thankful for the interlude, since Niou fell into step with Yagyuu and Gakuto started to whine about the match to him, but he knew that wouldn't be the end of it.


	3. Theme 3: jolt!

Title: Niou's

Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitar

Fandom: Prince of Tenni

Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Oshitari won all his matches up to the last one that day - the one scheduled against Niou. He lucked out in the draw against Seigaku, getting someone who hadn't been on the Regulars team in junior high, and hadn't played any other really good team yet. Niou would be a tough opponent though. It was also getting late on the first day of the tournament, and they'd played more matches in that one day than in tournaments prior. The high school circuit expected them to have more stamina than the junior high tournaments - those without the stamina to play several sets in one day would be clearly separated from those who could. 

Stamina had never been an issue for him, Oshitari thought, heading to the A courts. He and Niou, both still undefeated, were top players from Hyoutei and Rikkai, and so were considered one of _the _matches to watch. He only wondered what surprises the famous trickster devil had up his sleeve, if any at all. Some part of him hoped Niou would have something planned out, because he wasn't sure he could beat Niou, even without tricks, and that would just be downright embarrassing.

"Ah, Oshitari-kun, I hear you've won your matches easily?"

Let the match begin, Oshitari thought, turning to see Niou falling into stride beside him. "As have you."

"Indeed, but I've been looking forward to our match all day. My other opponents were too easy." As if that could scare him, Oshitari thought. Niou had hit some strong players, including Rokkaku's Kisarazu Ryou, and was making light of their demolishment. The next few words, though, did shock him, simple and straightforward and non-mocking and... sincere, as they were. "You like Hiroshi."

He replied the only way he could. Turning to face the slightly taller boy, Oshitari raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You like Hiroshi," Niou restated, simply, eyes open and full of intrigue, maybe a little sympathy, but no mockery. No tricks. Niou pulled open the gate to the courts, and they entered in silence, parting once through to set down their equipment and prepare for the match. They both knew, though, that Niou had already won the pre-match games. Oshitari did his best to eliminate all thoughts of Yagyuu and Niou's comment from his mind when he stepped onto the courts, reminding himself that he needed to beat the opponent in front of him.

Not unexpectedly, Niou won the match, though Oshitari had pushed him to a tiebreaker - which, in his shaken state, was rather impressive. Even Niou's perfectly calm, perfectly serious face when they shook hands after the winner was declared showed the respect he had for Oshitari's game. By then, pretty much the entire tournament had gathered around their court and were cheering quite loudly. They wouldn't be able to continue their conversation, but perhaps that was best for now.

He hadn't actually admitted it to himself yet, really. He liked Yagyuu? No, he was just interested in the boy. Maybe become friends with him or something, but he wasn't interested that way, was he? He watched as Niou joined his team and was congratulated by them. Niou turned to smile at him - a smile full of evil intent and the mischievous trickster glint - sending a jolt of newly awakened awareness through Oshitari.

He'd just played right into Niou's trap, hadn't he. The innocence, the sincerity, the words - they were all an act, part of Niou's plan to disrupt him enough to easily overtake him. Niou raised two fingers to his lips, placing a light kiss on the backs of them before bringing them to his forehead, as if in salute, and Oshitari noticed the weights around his wrists. His gaze trailed to the power ankles the boy was still wearing. Niou completed his insult by muttering something to his team, then setting off on a jog around the grounds, as if saying the match hadn't given him enough of a workout.

The most perfect part of Niou's plan, Oshitari bemoaned to himself as the rest of the Hyoutei regulars joined him, was that no one else had seen it, had known it existed. Moreover, it wasn't as if he could actually _tell _anyone about it.

* * *

:P Reviews, critiques, all welcomed!

* * *


	4. Theme 4: our distance and that person

Title: Us Then, Us Now

Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari (but got AtoTari angst in this part)

Fandom: Prince of Tennis

Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

"Yuushi." Oshitari sighed and turned towards the voice. Sometimes, there were dangers to having Atobe know him so well. "What happened?"

How could he explain, when even he wasn't sure? "Niou's strong," he replied, feeling the limo slow to a stop, presumably for a red light.

"That wasn't all. Your play - it was different." There was another thing about Atobe - egocentric as he was, he had been their captain for more reasons than just his strength. Even though he rarely showed it, Atobe did watch over his team carefully, grooming each player to his own style so that the team benefited overall. He was just glad that Atobe also had tact enough to wait until they were alone before asking him these questions. But how could he respond? Ever since their breakup, their friendship had cooled down and become strained - they surely didn't talk about relationship-related issues.

"Niou... said something. Before the match. I guess it kind of threw me off, that's all," he finally said. He was so not getting away with just that, though. Not from Atobe.

Indeed, the next words from Atobe were, "You're not the type to get thrown by petty words, Yuushi. It must've been something big."

"Does it matter? I screwed up, I lost, I'll train hard, and I'll improve, OK?" Oshitari's gaze hardened into ice, voice lower than usual. He realized it was a mistake as soon as it happened though - Atobe never let that get to him.

"What if it happens again, in a real match? Do you expect me to keep you out of the game every time we play Rikkai? Do you need me to keep guessing what it is, so I know when to not place you in a match? Yuushi, this isn't just about you. It's also about the team." Oh damn. So it was about the team, now, was it. Of course - everything was always about the team.

"I can deal with it on my own, you know. You don't need to mother me all the time, Atobe. There's no need to worry about the team; it won't get to me again."

Atobe sighed. "Fine then, Yuushi, as a friend. Tell me as a friend, because I do worry about you, you know." That came as a shock. He knew that Atobe cared about all of them, but he never expected the narcissistic boy to come out right and say it. "How about this? I missed talking to you the way we used to, about school and guys and tennis and life and you and me."

This time had been bound to come - they were bound to one day face each other and talk out their status. He just hadn't expected Atobe to be the one to instigate it. "He said I liked Yagyuu, OK? Can we drop it now?" There. He wasn't sure what Atobe's response would be, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be helpful to him at all.

"Do you?" Indeed, it wasn't helpful, but the way that Atobe said it made Oshitari look at the boy next to him more closely. Atobe's eyes, usually imperiously stoic and uncaring, were softened into that gaze he had reserved especially for Oshitari once, and now for Jirou. It wasn't warm, and it wasn't caring, but it was human. Atobe hadn't used it on him in a long time - the last time had been quite awhile before their breakup - and it felt kind of strange. "I mean, I've been feeling kind of sorry for you these past years, since you hadn't been dating and all. Of course no one could compare to me, so you just couldn't find anyone of the same caliber." Now that sounded more like Atobe. Instead of answering, Oshitari closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat.

But the question he'd asked was lodged in Oshitari's memory and refused to leave. Did he like Yagyuu? Sure, the gentleman was courteous and handsome, but so were a lot of people, on the outside. Yagyuu could also be quite a nasty character, like when he agreed to Niou's impersonation plot last year at the Kantou finals. Then again, he had dated Atobe, and Atobe certainly could be nastier than that by far. Plus, he didn't really know Yagyuu that well, not like Atobe, whom he'd known since elementary school.

"Answer me, Yuushi."

"No." Pause. Atobe stared at him with those insight eyes that could see through the strongest of tennis players to spot their weakness. "Yes." Longer pause. To his credit, Atobe didn't say anything, or even move. Somehow, they both knew neither was the correct answer, not the answer that was reverberating in Oshitari's mind, unwilling to come out. "Not the way I liked you," he finally said. Not as much as I liked you, he finished in his mind.

Atobe sighed, indicating he knew this was the most he'd get from Oshitari that day. "I'm sorry." That was quite a curveball - Oshitari sat up straight again, eyebrow quirked in question. Atobe Keigo was never sorry, not even if he destroyed someone's entire future. It was just against his nature to be sorry, and even more against it for him to say it. "Really, Yuushi, I did love you. But Jirou, Jirou's something different altogether. He needs me, and you don't. You're strong and independent, you and I don't click that way."

He had known that also, but it helped a little to hear it directly from Atobe. "If you'd like, I'm sure Yukimura would be more than thrilled to set you up with Yagyuu. We've talked a bit about relationships on the circuit, and he always lamented about Yagyuu's single status." Now that was new. And interesting. Atobe needed credit, sometimes.

They were pulling up in front of his house, though, and he wasn't quite sure what to say. Instead, he picked up his bag from the floor of the vehicle, and said, "I'll let you know, how's that?" Atobe just nodded. The driver was about to get out to open the door, so Oshitari quickly informed him that it'd be OK, he could get the door himself. Stepping out of the car, he was surprised that Atobe followed him out. Silently, Atobe leaned forward and lightly kissed him on the lips. He then got back into the car, closing the door behind him and drove off.

* * *

Review and let me know your thoughts? They make me happy. 


	5. Theme 5: ano sa

Title: I Love My Computer

Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari

Fandom: Prince of Tennis

Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

Note: Uh… so now we pretend that people talk online similar to how they talk in person, OK? Because I sure as heck don't know how the Japanese talk on IM.

* * *

He had to write a paper that night, so obviously the first thing Oshitari did when he turned on his computer after dinner that night was sign on IM. Maybe someone could amuse him as he wrote five pages about the current Japanese export policy and why it needed changing. Before he could even open up his text editor, a window popped open, asking to accept a message from someone new. He clicked OK, intrigued by the odd screen name and wondering if it were someone he knew.

"Is this Oshitari from Hyoutei? I'm Rikkai's Yagyuu," immediately popped up. Whoa. That was totally unexpected. Paper completely forgotten, he replied the only way he could think of, "Hi, what's up?" Another window popped up – Gakuto, something in the back of his mind vaguely registered – to which he replied without even thinking, before focusing back on Yagyuu's window. He was slightly amused by the serious boy's choice of a buddy icon – the gold foil wrapped Hershey's kiss just… wasn't very stereotypical Yagyuu.

"I got your sn from Yukimura and Atobe. Niou told me what he said to you before your match; I wanted to apologize for his childishness." Well, wasn't that just like the gentleman, Oshitari chuckled inwardly. Perfect grammar and spelling aside, the mere fact that he found Niou's actions atrocious enough to apologize for was simply not something the average high school player did.

"It's all right," he quickly typed. "It's all part of the game, and I lost fairly. Niou's a very good player." In more ways than one, he added silently. There was a pause, and Oshitari wondered if that was all Yagyuu was going to say. He looked over at Gakuto's annoyingly blinking window and told his partner that no, he was fine, nothing had happened with Niou, when Yagyuu started talking again.

"Ano sa… I was wondering, is it true?"

OK this was bad, Oshitari thought. It looked like Atobe's matchmaking suggestion wasn't even necessary. He'd been so busy wondering himself whether or not Niou's statement was true that he didn't even make the connection that Yagyuu and Niou were best friends, and therefore probably informed each other of news like this. As he stared at the window, wondering how to respond, Yagyuu seemed to take his silence as an answer, because he continued, "I'm sorry, that was quite rude of me."

"I don't know." It was easy, non-compromising, and true, Oshitari thought. As an afterthought, he asked, "Why?"

"Because I think I'm interested in you."

Well, there you had it. Yagyuu obviously wasn't one for wasting words, and apparently wasn't affected by that embarrassment thing at all. He seemed perfectly confident in saying what he thought needed to be said, regardless of repercussions, kind of like Atobe, actually. He was different from Atobe though – Atobe was confident because he believed he was never wrong; Yagyuu was confident just simply because he was.

Oshitari was very glad they were talking over the internet now, as he suddenly realized his face was slowly flushing from reading and rereading Yagyuu's pseudo-confession. He couldn't figure out why this was affecting him so much though, aside from the simple reason that he was interested in Yagyuu. It wasn't as if this was the first time someone had expressed an interest in him – he got his fair share of love letters in his locker and confessions after practice and whatnot. He just never was interested in any of them, and so was able to keep his cool all those times.

This time was clearly different. He wasn't sure he "liked" Yagyuu in that way – he certainly had never spent time daydreaming about Yagyuu the way he'd seen Shishido spacing out in class, but not everyone was Shishido. He and Atobe never really went through this phase – Atobe had just shown up at his door one day and demanded that Oshitari go to the theatres with him then and there.

A persistent blinking made Oshitari click on Gakuto's window before returning to Yagyuu's. It'd been a couple of minutes since Yagyuu had written, and he knew he needed to say something, so he just let his fingers type and pressed send. Then he read what he'd written. "Are you free tomorrow afternoon?" Holy shit. He did not just write that. That sounded like quite the come on. But the words were there, on his screen, and there was no taking them back.

"Yes."

Oh. Interesting. His mind decidedly wasn't into forming actual sentences at the moment. "Do you want to see a movie or something?"

"I'm not really into movies," came the reply. "But you know, I've heard Tokyo's got a new ice rink near Hyoutei."

Ice-skating. He could sort of skate, but not too well. It was decidedly unclear why or how Yagyuu knew of the rink, but he wasn't going to think about that just now. "It's about a fifteen minute walk. Do you like skating?"

"I used to play hockey." Now that was unexpected. Yagyuu, the excruciatingly polite tennis player whose neck some people mentioned desiring to strangle for his infuriating ever-calm demeanor, played the rough checking sport of hockey?

"How about meeting in front of the rink at 1, then?" He so totally had no clue what he was getting himself into.

"Sounds good to me."

"I need to finish writing this paper right now though, so I'll see you tomorrow, then?" They went through the usual pleasantries of good lucks and good nights, before Oshitari put up an away message. He completely forgot about Gakuto, but that was OK – he could just make up some excuse later. Right now, he needed to clear his mind write his paper. How realistic that was, though, was yet to be determined, as his mind kept replaying the conversation that had just transpired.

How the HELL had that happened?

* * *

Reviews loved. D 


	6. Theme 6: space between dream & reality

Title: The Second Meeting: Snapshots   
Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Fandom: Prince of Tennis   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari rubbed his neck. His muscles were getting stiff from sitting in one place for so long, but he only had a paragraph left to write. Quickly, he tapped out a conclusion, before saving his file and printing it. He stretched, and decided a hot bath was in order. It was late, so he was sure the rest of his family had already gone to sleep, leaving him free to soak in the hot water for as long as he liked. 

Unbidden, memories started seeping into his mind, memories of dates with Atobe and watching Rikkai's matches. He found himself comparing Atobe and Yagyuu, looking for similarities that might explain his strange attraction to the two incredibly forward boys. The heat from the water slowly worked its way into his tired body, loosening the tensed muscles around his shoulders and soothing the overused ones along his whole body, and he started dozing off into that space between dream and reality.

Atobe standing on his doorstep, demanding Oshitari change and go to the theatres with him.

Yagyuu at one of the non-circuit tournaments - he forgot which - hitting an astoundingly fast shot for a second year, and the crowds going wild.

Atobe, staring at him throughout practice, the first time he played doubles with Gakuto. It wasn't clear whether Atobe was just simply staring at him, or trying to decide if they made a good pairing.

Shaking hands with Yagyuu after losing to him and Niou, and finding him exceedingly polite. Later, the boy would be well known for that very politeness.

Forcing Atobe to walk home with him once, resulting in Atobe complaining about the weather, the cars and everything imaginable, throughout the entire walk.

Meeting the team designated to be Rikkai regulars the following year, at nationals their second year, and realizing that Rikkai, with their hell of a strong team, would be incredibly dominant in their third year.

Atobe meeting him outside the clubhouse early Valentine's Day - he usually was the first one to arrive on mornings - and giving him his first kiss.

Yagyuu and Niou pulling that infamous switch at Kantou finals their third year, stunning silent the entire spectator crowd. That had been one of the first times he'd thought over Yagyuu and Niou's closeness, as opposed to Gakuto and himself.

Deciding that Atobe needed shutting up one Sunday afternoon in his room, and all but throwing the boy on his bed for the make out session of his life.

Yagyuu and the rest of Rikkai winning Nationals, then standing tall and proud on the courts, getting their trophy and medals.

Atobe telling him they were breaking up, because he wanted to see Jirou.

He jolted awake. His bath water had cooled significantly, and was barely lukewarm anymore. Quickly, Oshitari climbed out of the tub, pulling the drain plug to let the water out. It wasn't the first time he'd fallen asleep in the bathtub, but his dreams - no, memories, he corrected himself - had never been quite this vivid before. Slightly shaken, he toweled dry and slipped into pajamas. He definitely needed sleep, before tomorrow.

* * *

We will now return to our regular programming (sorry about the delay in getting this up, and its difference in quality to the other chapters). 


	7. Theme 7 & 8: superstar &our own world

Title: The Second Meeting: Old and New  
Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Fandom: Prince of Tennis  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool. 

So when I first looked at the theme, my muse refused to come up with a plot outside of sheer crack (think Disney on Ice crossed with Titanic). I was going to skip it, then I started writing, and this came out. Exaggerated and altered from a true life story, which probably makes it not as realistic somehow, but it's what came out and I can't think of anything else .  
Oh. S.H.E. is a real band, "Superstar" is a real song, and neither belong to me. XD

* * *

He did not like this, Oshitari decided. No, not one, tiny little bit. He was just meeting a fellow tennis player for a day out, so Iwhy/I couldn't he decide on something to wear? Everything he pulled out his closet suddenly seemed older and less sophisticated than it had the day before. The occasional articles that looked decent decidedly were not ice skating wear.

"To hell with it," he muttered, reaching back into his closet and blindly snatching out a shirt. He grabbed a pair of slacks and put them on, telling himself that was his outfit. Sure, the shirt was a birthday gift from his mom last year, but it was wearable, so whatever. Pocketing his wallet and keys, he headed for the rink.

He could see Yagyuu casually leaning against the wall, skates slung across his shoulders, as soon as he turned the corner. His watch only read ten till, so he wasn't late, though it was slightly embarrassing that he, the one who actually lived in Tokyo, would be the second to arrive. "Good afternoon, Oshitari-kun," Yagyuu smiled, pushing up his glasses, before Oshitari had the chance to say anything.

"Afternoon," he replied, coolly, just like he always was.

Yagyuu straightened and started to head inside the rink. "Do you need skate rental? Actually, have you skated before?"

The question was slightly obvious, Oshitari's mind muttered. He obviously wasn't carrying skates, and would be needing rental. "Yea, I've only skated twice before." By then, Yagyuu was already at the counter inside the rink and paying for two admissions and a rental. Wait. "Yagyuu-kun, I can –"

"It's all right. I called you out today, so it's only fitting. Don't make a scene." Yagyuu took the admission stickers from the cashier, who seemed to be smiling in approval at something. Oshitari blanched. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea – the rink was a public place, after all. "Come, what shoe size are you?"

Yagyuu got his skates for him, a pair slightly smaller than his shoes. "Skates tend to be a bit bigger," was the only explanation he gave. They sat down at a bench next to the actual rink, and Oshitari was glad he wore long sleeves. The air around the rink was pretty cold; the rink itself could only be colder. A minute later, he was cursing his apparently lack of coordination, as the laces got terribly tangled in his hands. Yagyuu chuckled next to him, his fingers threading through the tiny holes and flying over the hooks as if they were performing a practiced dance. "Hold on; let me finish and I'll help you. If you don't get them tight enough, your ankles will be aching in ten minutes."

It was decidedly awkward, Oshitari thought, when Yagyuu knelt down in front of him and proceeded to lace his skates. He was vaguely reminded of a child's fairy tale, where the prince was trying a shoe on the foot of every maiden in his kingdom to find his rightful bride, but he banished that thought with a quick blink. There was a group of middle school girls giggling and looking their way, and he wished Yagyuu would hurry up. It looked like there was no need for that, though, as Yagyuu straightened. "Are they too tight?"

Oshitari tried wiggling his foot. "Just a little."

"Good. They're supposed to feel a bit too tight. It's one of the mistakes most beginning skaters make, not tying the boots tight enough. Come on," Yagyuu seemed about to instinctively reach a hand out before stopping himself. It was different from dating Atobe – Yagyuu walked by his side, as though concerned for Oshitari's ability to hobble around on the thin blades. He didn't make it obvious though, rather, it just seemed as if he wanted to talk. "Have you roller bladed before?"

"When I was younger, I used to blade around the neighborhood a lot," Oshitari replied, smiling at the memory. "It was before I got into tennis."

"I see. I quit hockey when I got into tennis, also. That was a long time ago."

"I can't imagine you playing hockey." They were on the ice now, and Oshitari was grabbing at the wall for dear life. The ice was a lot slipperier than he had expected. Yagyuu, however, had quite comfortably pushed right off the wall and spun to a stop, backwards, right in front of him.

"A lot of people say that. I didn't only play hockey though – these are my figure skates, actually. Stand up straight."

Oshitari did as ordered, mouth pulling into a smirk. "Are you going to teach me to skate then, sensei?"

"Well, it'd be rather boring if you just clung to the wall the whole time," Yagyuu retorted.

Half an hour later, Oshitari plopped down rather ungracefully onto the bench where they'd put on their skates. Yagyuu silently handed him a cup of steaming coffee, which he took with murmured "Thanks."

"How did you start in tennis?" Yagyuu asked him. He took a sip of the hot liquid, enjoying the feeling of warmth seeping down his throat and spreading throughout his body.

"Atobe made me, actually. We've lived near each other all our lives, and he decided one day that he wanted to play tennis." He smiled fondly at the memory, when Atobe demanded he join the Hyoutei tennis club with him.

"I see. You two used to date, didn't you?"

That had been the one topic he didn't want to touch on today. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, blue eyes staring into the comforting brown liquid. "Yes, but can we not talk about that?" He chanced a peek at the boy sitting next to him. Yagyuu was looking at him, rather intently.

"Sure," was his only reply. There was a pause in their conversation, and Oshitari almost forgot how to move. He swallowed, and the moment broke.

"So, why'd you quit skating?" he asked, sitting up straight again and taking another sip.

Yagyuu shrugged, and looked out at the rink. He looked rather picturesque like that, Oshitari thought, arms extended to hold a folded knee close, head held high, looking out at the people skating happily, obviously thinking about times past. "Various reasons."

"Show me." The words were whispered; Oshitari hadn't even realized he'd said them until Yagyuu turned to look at him. Yagyuu stood up and walked over to the jukebox like thing that played songs over the rink's speakers. He seemed to be looking for a particular song, after which he slipped some coins into the machine. He looked at Oshitari, as if to say "watch carefully," then headed towards to the center of the rink. The music started, and with it, Yagyuu.

Oshitari quickly recognized the song – it was a popular Chinese girl band, S.H.E. or something. The song was one of his sister's favorites, "Superstar" or something. The music was fervent, not quite sensual, but full of desire and a sort of yearning. Yagyuu's moves on the ice, Oshitari decided, did not match the music. They were smooth and he was good, but they didn't match. There was a coldness in him that just clashed with the song – were he to color-code them, he'd say the music was a burning crimson, Yagyuu an ice blue tinged white.

That didn't mean he wasn't captivated by Yagyuu's movements, though. It was as if no one else existed – indeed, everyone else moved away to let Yagyuu perform unimpeded, watching the skilled boy dancing through his steps like he'd been born skating. Twice – once after nailing a jump and once while doing a sequence of dance steps around the edge where Oshitari was seated – their eyes met, and if Oshitari were prone to blushing, he knew he definitely would have. As things stood, he was just very glad he had dark skin to mask the heated flush he felt rising in his neck.

Oshitari finally realized the true meaning behind Yagyuu's being called Rikkai's gentleman. It wasn't just the politeness or the sportsmanship the boy exhibited. Yagyuu had a grace – no, elegance – about him that reminded him of England and France's eighteenth century noblemen.

"Wow," Oshitari breathed when Yagyuu had finished and was standing in front of him. "That was beautiful."

"It wasn't enough," Yagyuu replied. "It wasn't enough for my coach, for me, for the judges." Unsure what he could say, Oshitari just sat quietly. "But that doesn't matter. Come, are you ready to try again?"

"Yea, I think so," he replied, standing and throwing away his empty cup.

He walked Yagyuu to the train station and waited with him for the train to come. This too, was new. Atobe usually just dropped him off with a see you tomorrow. "I enjoyed today," he murmured quietly, leaning against an advertisement for lipstick, with a picture of a beautiful woman, lips puckered as if in a kiss. Yagyuu stood in front of him, close enough that whispers were enough.

"Me too," Yagyuu said.

"You're playing Atobe next week."

"Yea. Whom will you cheer for?" It was a question with no strings attached, and they both knew it. Atobe was his teammate – he was required, in a way, to always root for Atobe.

"I think, I'm not going to cheer for either," he said, just as the train pulled in. "See you then."

Yagyuu seemed to think for a brief moment before saying, "Yea, see you." He turned and got on the train. Oshitari wasn't sure why his heart skipped a beat, nor why he felt kind of disappointed. The sun was setting behind the train, and the lights in the advertisement behind him flickered before lighting brightly on the dimmed platform.


	8. Theme 9: dash

Title: The Second Meeting: Just What I Always Needed   
Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Fandom: Prince of Tennis   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

The week came and went. School was normal – practice was normal. He and the other members participating in the newcomers' tournament played more practice games than they normally would as first years, but the current tournament was top priority. Quicker than he thought possible, Saturday rolled around again.

His match against Shudou Satoshi of Rokkaku was hard, as expected. He lost – his second loss in a row, but this one wasn't even close. Shudou all but destroyed him. He wondered if he really was Hyoutei's prodigy player.

He'd figured out where Atobe was playing before his match began, so he could dash straight over right after he finished. Jirou was already there, and waved when he saw Oshitari approaching. "Atobe's winning," he said.

"By?" Oshitari realized he was kind of relieved to hear that, and was shocked that his subconscious was that clear on whom he was loyal to.  
"Three-two."

"They've only played five games?"

"They're having amazing rallies," the over exuberant boy said, turning his full attention back to Atobe, who was serving. Oshitari looked at the courts for the first time, just in time to see Yagyuu turn from looking his way to looking at Atobe.

Atobe's serve began a great rally. The word "great" is used so often that people have become desensitized to it, but Oshitari knew what he was seeing, and he knew it was great, in the truest sense of the word. Neither player held back – the pace of the rally was beyond the capabilities of even many so-called good players. Yagyuu used his finishing shot, the laser, only for it to be returned by Atobe without a hitch. Jirou was more excited that he'd ever been, even for his own matches against top players (though he was always most excited only when Marui was on the courts). Finally, Atobe sent a shot straight past Yagyuu's ear, ending the game. "Game, Hyoutei Atobe. Four games to two."

Yagyuu served next. Yagyuu didn't have as fearful a serve as Atobe, but it was something normal players wouldn't be able to return. Yagyuu kept his service game well, only letting Atobe get one point. "Yagyuu lost his first service game," Jirou explained.

"Ah."

"So, Oshitari-kun, how was your date with Hiroshi? He refused to tell me anything." Oshitari closed his eyes and inwardly groaned, just as Atobe served. He didn't see Yagyuu's eyes narrow in obvious disapproval at what he probably thought Niou was saying.

"You went on a date with Yagyuu Hiroshi?" Jirou practically screeched, clearly more interested in this bit of gossip than in the match that up until now nothing could distract him from. Apparently Jirou had gotten quite a bit of sleep the previous night, to have this much energy today. "When?"

"Last week, isn't that right, Oshitari-kun?" Oshitari took a deep breath and pretended to nod distractedly, as if he were super focused on the game – which, incidentally, was getting interesting. Yagyuu seemed to change, playing even more aggressively than before, sending Atobe chasing lasers all over the court. In minutes, he'd won, and brought the score up to four-three.

"Whoo! Go Hiroshi!" Niou clapped. Oshitari could feel Niou's eyes boring into him, even as he frowned. What was up with Atobe? Had Yagyuu merely been toying around?

Sure enough, Yagyuu blew past Atobe's narrow lead, winning the set without letting Atobe get another single point. Niou cheered for his friend, while Jirou enthusiastically informed the unamused Atobe that it had been an awesome game and that Yagyuu was an awesome player.

He hadn't expected Niou to kiss Yagyuu full on the lips as cause of all his troubles exited the court, though.

* * *

So uh... "dash" incorporated using its transitive verb definition, not the "I dashed over here" definition. I usually automatically think of the intransitive verb first, hence the explanation. :P Comments?  



	9. Theme 10: 10

Title: The Second Meeting: Million Dollar QuestionPairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Fandom: Prince of Tennis  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

He won the rest of his matches easily, though the two losses were enough to push him out of the semifinal breaks. Even Atobe, with his one loss, didn't make it. He didn't feel like staying around to watch Yukimura, Sanada, Yanagi, and Tezuka battle it out - with those three Rikkai members in the breaks, Yagyuu and Niou would without a doubt be there. Shishido didn't want to be anywhere near the pissed off Atobe either, so they left together.

"Jirou said you went on a date with Rikkai's Yagyuu?" were Shishido's first words to him as they left the tournament grounds. He groaned inwardly - he should've known better than to think that Jirou wouldn't have already told the entire team about what Niou had said and done.

"Yea."

"Atobe was muttering some pretty nasty things about Yagyuu there after their match," Shishido pried, clearly trying to get more information from him. Oshitari never did like Shishido very much, but that was before the incident with the hair and whatnot last year. Shishido was apparently bearable only when determined, or when Ohtori was around.

"So why didn't Ohtori come today?" he asked, hoping it would stop the questioning on himself.

Shishido went silent for a moment. He kicked a small stone on the sidewalk in front of him, before replying, "We had a fight."

Oshitari raised an eyebrow. "You guys fought?" he repeated, surprised. Ohtori and Shishido fighting was as rare an occurrence as the sky falling down - Ohtori was too sweet and yielding of a boy to argue with anyone, and Shishido was too whipped by Ohtori to argue with him.

Shishido sighed. "I should probably go apologize to him." He kicked the stone again.

"Well, we just passed the street to his house," Oshitari replied, kind of glad that he could get rid of Shishido, but also hoping they could patch things up. Shishido needed Ohtori - heck, he needed Shishido to be with Ohtori if he wanted some sanity in the locker room.

"Yea. Listen, Oshitari. Give Yagyuu a chance to explain." Shishido waved and jogged off in the direction of Ohtori's house. Oshitari shook his head, wondering at how much Ohtori had changed Shishido, and if Yagyuu had already started to change him.

Actually, Yagyuu probably already had. He was Oshitari - calm and cool and collected Oshitari. Except he hadn't been so calm and cool and collected recently - especially where Rikkai and Seigaku were involved, because they made him push his limits. Not around Atobe either, because he was Atobe. But that didn't mean he'd lose his calm over a kiss? He was still thinking over this matter as he closed the front door of his house behind him.

Unfortunately, the people you didn't want to see were often the best at showing up. No one else was home and he really didn't feel like seeing anyone, so he ignored the doorbell, thinking whoever it was would just think no one was home. To his great annoyance, that didn't work. After maybe half an hour of ringing, the door was finally silent.

He went downstairs to get some juice when he heard a key turn in the front door and the creak of the door opening - his dad really needed to get that fixed. Walking to the front door, juice in hand, he raised an eyebrow at Atobe and Yagyuu, standing in the doorway. "You still have the key to my house?" he asked Atobe, mentally noting that they needed a lock change, also.

"Yes," Atobe said simply, before turning to leave. "Try to have fun without me, 'k?" Oshitari shook his head at Atobe, as Yagyuu entered the front hallway and closed the door behind him. They looked at each other, one looking for words to say and the other waiting for him to say them.

Finally, Yagyuu asked, "May I come in?" Oshitari sighed, waving his glass of juice to indicate a pair of slippers Yagyuu could use. He led the way into the family room, where he pointed to an armchair before heading back to the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later with a cup of tea, which he set down in front of Yagyuu, before taking a seat on the couch across from him. Yagyuu was the one that came, Yagyuu could be the one to start talking.

Silence reigned as Yagyuu leaned forward, taking a sip of his tea before setting it back on its coaster. He folded his arms and rested them on his knees. "Oshitari-kun, remember when I told you that Niou was straight?"

"Was that a joke?" The biting remark came before Oshitari could check it, realizing a bit too late how bitter he sounded.

"No, that wasn't. To tell the truth, I was just as surprised as you were when he did that." It was hard to tell if Yagyuu was telling the truth or not. He wasn't Niou, of whom one should always be suspicious - no, he was Yagyuu, whom one could usually trust, except when Niou was involved.

"How did you know where I live?" Maybe this talking and explaining thing wouldn't be so bad. He wondered if Shishido and Ohtori were OK yet.

Yagyuu looked up at him. "I asked Atobe."

"And he answered you?"

"He even came by to open your door."

There was a pause. Oshitari felt kind of bad for Yagyuu having to deal with Atobe after just beating him - that was never a fun ride, and he knew that from experience. "Shouldn't you be watching the break rounds?"

"Yukimura said it was OK." Of course. The Rikkai team didn't breathe without the permission of Yukimura, even though he was no longer their captain in name.

"He's that confident he'll win? Tezuka's a good player, y'know."

"It doesn't matter if he wins or loses. Not to me."

"Why?"

"He and Tezuka are both good - losing to Tezuka's not something to be embarrassed about. Besides -"

"No, why did you come?" Oshitari cut him off, not really wanting to listen to tennis stats at the time. Yagyuu pushed his glasses up a little on his nose and looked at him. He heard the garage door start to open.

* * *

I have SO gone down the road of too shoujo-y, haven't I. :sigh: such a PMSy Oshitari... Review?  



	10. Theme 11: gardenia

Title: The Second Meeting: The Kiss  
Pairing: Yagyuu x Oshitari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari inwardly cursed his family for their timing. It would seem they'd just returned from wherever they'd gone for the day. "Come, let's go talk in my room," he said. Yagyuu nodded and silently followed him upstairs. "Sorry for the mess; just have a seat wherever." Oshitari said politely, knowing his room was as spotless as possible. He himself sat down in his desk chair, one leg tucked under his chin, arms hugging it close. Yagyuu sat facing him on the floor, back resting against his bed. Silence reigned again, as Oshitari watched his clock tick away the seconds.

"I didn't think it'd be wise to let you go with the wrong impression," Yagyuu finally spoke.

"What impression?"

"That Niou and I had something."

"Yagyuu, do I look stupid to you? What else could that have meant?"

"I talked to him right after you left," Yagyuu said. "He claims he did that on impulse."

"And I'm supposed to believe that."

"I think Niou's going through some tough times."

"So he kisses you when he has troubles. Right after you and he both win your matches."

"No. That was the first time that has ever happened."

"Then -"

"Oshitari," Yagyuu cut him off. They looked at each other, silently. "That's a pretty flower," Yagyuu finally commented. Oshitari turned to follow his gaze – Yagyuu was looking at the gardenia his sister had dried one summer and given him. He wasn't sure what that had to do with anything, but wasn't really in the mood to be contrary anymore.

"My sister cut it off the neighbor's bush when I was six," he said. "She dried it in salt or something and gave it to me, and told me it would last forever. That was the last summer we actually liked each other." Yagyuu had been the first of his visitors to mention the flower - no one else had ever bothered noticing the things he'd valued. He was sure that if he'd asked Atobe or Gakuto about a flower in his room, they'd both reply 'what flower?'

"What happened?"

"She entered middle school. Started liking boys, and going out with her friends, and said I was an annoying brat."

Yagyuu chuckled gently. Oshitari felt that sound to be somewhat comforting. Peaceful. "You know, I think you're sort of like a gardenia."

"Excuse me?"

"Yuushi! We're going out for dinner!" A girl's voice spoke right outside his door. His sister stuck her head in without any regard for his privacy. Upon seeing Yagyuu looking at her, she paused. "Oh, didn't know you had a friend over."

"It's all right, I should be leaving anyway," Yagyuu said, standing up.

"Are you sure? You could join us for dinner; the 'rents won't mind," she said, full of sugary politeness. Oshitari wanted to laugh.

"Yea; my family's probably waiting for me already." His sister shrugged, closing the door and leaving them alone. "She seems nice," Yagyuu said, after the sound of her walking down the hallway died.

"Of course she does; you're company," Oshitari murmured.

"How would you feel if she kissed you?" Yagyuu asked out of the blue. "On the forehead or cheek or something."

"What?" Yagyuu didn't respond, knowing that Oshitari's exclamation was merely one of surprise. Sure enough, Oshitari followed up, "Um, kind of weird, I guess - she hasn't since we were still little. But it's OK; she is my sister, after all."

"That's like Niou, to me. And me to him, really. He's just never been one to care for personal space. He even once hugged Sanada."

"You're lying now." Oshitari stood up, walking to his door so he could see Yagyuu out. Yagyuu apparently had other plans.

"Ah. But I'm not," the boy said, holding Oshitari's door closed with one hand. Oshitari turned to ask him what he was doing, but his voice caught in his throat when he saw how close Yagyuu was. "You see, there are different kinds of kisses, Oshitari Yuushi." Oshitari backed against his wall - he did _not_ like the way Yagyuu had just _breathed_ out his name. Yagyuu clearly didn't mind, as he lifted his other hand to rub the backs of gentle fingers against his chin. "This is the kind that didn't happen between me and Niou."

Yagyuu removed his glasses with one hand, and closed the short distance left between their lips. Oshitari's eyes widened slightly when their lips met, staring at Yagyuu's deep brown eyes through his own glasses, blurred black by their proximity and the lack of light in the room. The other boy's moist lips gently pushed at his own dry ones, while his hand moved around to cup his neck. Oshitari's right hand reached out to rest on Yagyuu's arm. Yagyuu stuck out the tip of his tongue to lick at the dip where his mouth was pressed closed, then he opened his mouth and his upper teeth bit down lightly against Oshitari's bottom lip, warm breath exhaling softly around them.

Oshitari's lips parted of their own accord, just when Yagyuu pulled away. He wanted to say something, anything, about why Yagyuu shouldn't have done that or something even more biting, but his mouth refused to comply. This wasn't right; he wasn't supposed to be the one left breathless in a relationship - but he kind of liked it. Yagyuu lips - which he'd just been kissing, his mind poked at him - turned in a small smile as he pushed his glasses back on his face.

He opened the door and walked out, arm accidentally brushing Oshitari's frozen one as he moved past him. "I'll show myself out," he whispered, leaving Oshitari leaning against his wall, unable to command motion from his limb

* * *

AKG: thwaps Yagyuu-muse There you happy? You finally kissed Oshitari.  
Yagyuu-muse: beams:nods  
AKG: .; :sigh: Oh well, if I'm going to go shoujo, I might as well go all out before reining myself back in. XD 


	11. Theme 12: in a good mood

Title: The Second Meeting: What Is Love  
Pairing: YuuTari. Also ShishiTori.  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

"Yuushi, have you done the math homework yet?" Gakuto asked in the locker room after practice the next day. 

"Yes," he replied, removing his glasses and pulling off his uniform shirt over his head.

"Can I copy it?" Gakuto was staring at him, clearly testing him. Oshitari never let anyone copy his schoolwork, sometimes offering tutoring instead.

"Yes." He reached for his school shirt.

"Can I fuck you?" a different voice popped in, but he didn't notice.

"Yes," he said, at the same time Gakuto reprimanded, "Shishido!"

"What, not like you weren't going there yourself," Shishido responded, walking around the corner from the other side of the row of lockers, having already finished changing.

"Well, yea, but that's different," Gakuto whined. "I wouldn't actually do it." Oshitari put his glasses back on, and, out of habit, neatly folded his tennis uniform. Closing and locking his locker, he grabbed his tennis bag and schoolbag and left the locker room, Gakuto and Shishido still squabbling behind him.

"Oshitari, hold on!" Shishido called. He stopped, waiting for his friend to catch up with him before continuing. "What's gotten into you today? You've been spacing in and out all day."

"Ah."

"And we have sign of intelligent life," Shishido muttered. "Really now, Oshitari. Are you OK? Did you and Yagyuu talk?"

"He kissed me," Oshitari murmured as they left the tennis grounds. Yagyuu's name seemed to wake him from a dream. It was a good thing today was such a routine day, he realized, because he certainly did not remember enough of today's activities for him to have consciously participated in them. He didn't sleep much the night prior, and was still rather tired. Mixed with the confusion (and elation, a voice inside his head said, though he firmly denied its existence) he was feeling, it was a wonder he made it through the day at all.

"Ohhhhh," Shishido smiled. "So do you guys have the next date scheduled yet?"

"No. He left right after." Shishido snickered, and Oshitari glared at him.

"Sorry, it was just a funny image. You must've been just as dazed as you were today!" Oshitari would've normally returned that with some witty quip, but he was still in a pretty good mood, if no longer out of it. Instead, he asked, "So how did things go with Ohtori?"

Shishido calmed immediately. "He wasn't home," he muttered. "His mom said he went for a jog."

"Care to talk about it?" Though he was still riding his high, he felt somewhat curious as to what happened, and obligated to help Shishido. They continued walking, past both of their turns, heading in the direction of a large park about half a mile away from the school.

Slowly, Shishido started talking, describing how Ohtori had talked to him about quitting tennis to focus on the violin. "I was against it - I was stupid. I thought of his leaving tennis as equivalent to him leaving me, because tennis is what we do together, y'know?" Oshitari nodded, silent, knowing how Shishido had a one-track mind sometimes and was slow to accept changes and differences.

"So he asked if tennis was really all we had, and if I just thought of him as a partner. He looked real upset, and I couldn't say anything - didn't know what to say." Shishido paused. The park was deserted. They started walking on one of the paths. "He's not, just a partner, you know? But that's different from saying he's not a partner."

"He's a partner, and so much more," Oshitari filled in.

"Yea. I don't know how to explain that to him, though."

"Shishido, what do you and Ohtori do, as a couple?" he asked. Shishido looked at him questioningly. "I've never done this dating thing," he explained. "So how do you two go about it?"

"I though you went out with Atobe," Shishido looked confused.

"Yea, but that was just him ordering me around. It's different."

Shishido chuckled. "True, I can imagine that happening. Wonder what he does with Jirou. 'I order you to sleep. Oh, you already are. Good boy.'" Oshitari smiled at the idea, but didn't say anything. He didn't exactly want to get onto the topic of Atobe at the moment, and Shishido picked up on that quickly. "Well, we basically just hang out together a lot." Oshitari looked up at the trees overhead as they walked. "I listen to him play his violin sometimes, and we watch movies, and sometimes we do homework together."

"Then, what makes it different from being friends? I mean, you and I have watched movies together, and do homework together, and all that stuff."

Shishido didn't answer immediately. When he did, his voice was quieter, calmer. "I'm not sure. I don't think there is much difference. I do those with Choutarou more than with you, or anyone else, really. And we talk more than with other people - he hasn't told anyone else yet about quitting tennis, so you didn't hear it from me, OK? But it's also OK when we're not talking. I don't need a reason to be with him - just simply being with him is enough reason to be with him, if that makes any sense."

"Strangely, it does," Oshitari muttered.

"Most of all though, I think it's just how we feel. Secure, I think. I know he's always there for me, and I know I'll always be here for him. Friends may come and go - I mean, I don't really talk to Hiyoshi anymore, and I somehow doubt you do, either. Friends try to be around to support each other, but it's not always possible. For Choutarou though, damn this sounds sappy, but I really feel like I'd do anything for him."

Shishido was looking at the ground, and didn't see what Oshitari did. "Shishido," Oshitari waited for his friend to look up at him. Nodding his head in front, he indicated someone in familiar training clothes jogging towards them. "I think this might just be fate, no?" he smiled. Shishido's eyes widened, taking in the silver head, blue and white Hyoutei uniform, tall build.

"Choutarou!" he called. The boy looked up, slowing down as he stared. "Thanks, Oshitari. Good luck," Shishido waved, and ran over to where Ohtori stood, sweat matting his hair down, clearly unsure what he should do. Oshitari smiled at them and turned to go home, not wanting to intrude on their moment, wanting instead to think over Shishido's words.

* * *

eyes theme 13 warily that sounds like an invitation for bondage. Comments loved, as usual. Critiques adored. Yep.  
No, no kiss this time. I mean, the last piece was titled "The Kiss"... forgive me a chapter. :P 


	12. Theme 13: excessive chain

Title: The Second Meeting: Life's Chains   
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.  
--- 

Oshitari hated grocery shopping with his sister. It wasn't that he hated shopping, or that he hated his sister - it was that shopping and his sister made a terrible combination. She was always on some diet, and looked at the calorie count for everything. He thought she should just buy the food their mom asked for, eat it, and exercise - that should be enough to keep anyone healthy. Besides, she was skinny as a stick already and didn't need to diet anymore - not that she ever listened to him.

She finally set one package of flour in the basket he was holding, putting the other back on the shelf. He had repeatedly assured her that flour was flour and neither package contained more calories per unit volume than the other, but clearly he didn't understand anything because he never had to worry about his weight, and she had to analyze both for herself. "What's next on the list?" she asked. He looked down at the notepad on which their mother had scribbled a list of things to buy.

"Celery," he replied. "And Keiko? Everyone knows you lose more calories from chewing raw celery than whatever you gain back eating it, so just pick a stalk and let's hurry." She gave him a scathing look, and he sighed, silently following her to the produce section.

As he stood next to her, basket in hand, waiting for her to find the perfect stalk of just the right color and crispness, he heard someone coming up behind him and felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned, thinking someone wanted him to move, but stopped and blinked when he saw who it was.

"Hello," Niou said, tightly gripping the arm of the boy behind him right above his power wrist. Niou couldn't hide Yagyuu though, even if he wanted to, Oshitari thought. "We stopped by your house, but your mother said you were probably here." His sister had apparently found her ideal celery and bagged it, putting it in the basket. "Say, who's the pretty lady?" Oshitari wondered if Niou always had the rights words at the right time.

"I'm Oshitari Keiko, Yuushi's sister," she introduced, sweetly smiling at the two boys as she took the basket and grocery list from his hands. "Take him; he's not helping much anyway." Looking back at her confused brother, she said, "Go on. You're more annoying than helpful; I'll tell Mom where you are."

He shrugged and followed the two taller boys out of the store - though it was more appropriate to say he followed Yagyuu, who was dragged by Niou, out of the store.

"You keep coming to Tokyo; don't you guys have homework or something?" he muttered. "I thought Rikkai was a tough high school."

"It is," Yagyuu said. "Niou just likes skipping a lot, don't you?"

"Not like the teachers can do anything about it," Niou retorted, releasing Yagyyu's arm and glancing back at him. At Oshitari's raised eyebrow, he explained, "I study at home and always get good grades, so it doesn't matter if I show up to class or not."

"I see." They followed Niou in silence for awhile, before Oshitari's curiosity spoke. "Exactly where are we going?" Niou looked at him and grinned, the sharp white teeth showing between his lips. Following Niou when he smiled like that, Oshitari thought, was like skipping into hell and kissing the devil. Besides, he was the one that lived in Tokyo, so how did Niou seem to know where they were going better than he did? They passed a street that was quite unfamiliar to him, though not sketchy enough for him to turn around.

Niou turned at the next street and they could see a small playground two blocks down. Niou stopped and pointed at a blue house across the street. "I used to live there," he said. He moved his arm a little bit to the right, pointing at the white house right next to it. "She lived there." He continued walking. Oshitari looked at Yagyuu, who gave him a slight shrug, before following Niou onto the playground.

Niou took a seat on one of the four swings and gave himself a light push. He was too tall for the swings, Oshitari thought, leaning against one of the metal poles that held up the set. Yagyuu stood next to and slightly behind him. He moved an arm around Oshitari's back, hand resting lightly against his waist. Oshitari thought about protesting, but didn't. It felt strange, yet kind of good. Comfortable.

Bending his knees underneath the swing just enough so that his feet didn't brush the ground, Niou gave another kick at the trench dug by years of children's feet kicking at the woodchips, flying just a little bit higher, a little bit faster. "I've known her since I could remember," he said, voice low but clear. "She was my best friend. We played here together, and she would always watch my tennis matches. Our parents used to joke that we were bound by a red thread."

He looked up, staring straight ahead at the house next to the playground. "When we moved to Kanagawa, our families still kept in touch. She and I even had sleepovers sometimes, and we had joint family vacations in the summer." His swing was losing momentum, and he kicked at the ground before speaking again.

"She emailed me two weeks ago. They've moved to America, and don't plan on coming back. She has a boyfriend there, now."

Oshitari wasn't sure what to say, and a quick peek at Yagyuu told him that he was equally confused. Niou suddenly kicked twice, violently, at the ground, sending woodchips spraying as he and his swing flew into the air. He leaned backwards, pumping the air to get more lift as he laughed loudly. "Fooled ya, didn't I?" he called out to them.

Atobe's face forced its way into Oshitari's mind, and he wondered if Niou felt like he had when Atobe left him for Jirou. It hadn't been a good feeling - being dumped probably never was - but that hadn't been all. Atobe had been his best friend also, strangely enough, and the feeling that his best friend was being taken away had hurt more than being traded for Jirou. In fact, it felt kind of like his link to reality snapped, for awhile.

"With him, you never know if it's true," Yagyuu muttered. Oshitari wondered if Niou ever had been chained to reality - he certainly danced and laughed right around and beyond the nets of society Joyce tried to evade.  
---

Maybe a crack omake with this theme sometime. It's more amusing than theme 30.  
This part itself... weak, interpretive link to the theme. It's there though, I swear. P I wonder if I'm focusing too much on other stories and not enough on YuuTari themselves.  
Red thread. I vaguely remember a Chinese legend, where two lovers were bound by a red thread of destiny. Basically, reference to that.  
Joyce's society. James Joyce quote in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - "When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets." One of my favorite quotes that I reference quite often. P


	13. Theme 14: radiocassette player

Title: The Second Meeting: Accidentally in Love  
Pairing: YuuTari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

---

The school year started to get harder and harder, and Oshitari found himself left with less and less time to spend outside of tennis and studying. Even during summer break, he had to follow a strict schedule with homework if he didn't want to cram right before school started. Before he knew it, the district and prefecturals were already over, and Kantou was starting tomorrow. He and Yagyuu had only met a few times, for coffee or a movie, but Yagyuu hadn't kissed him again.

He finished the last problem on this week's section of his math homework and stretched. Maybe he should message Yagyuu to see if he would be at Kantou tomorrow. Deciding that Yagyuu would definitely be there and that he was tired from not sleeping enough all week, he ended up setting his alarm for seven a.m. and crawling into bed. There was a little blue teddy bear that had recently moved near his pillow, where the corner of his bed and two walls of his room met. "I saw it while taking my little sister to the toy shop the other day," Yagyuu had explained when Oshitari looked at him with puzzled eyes. "It reminded me of your hair, and your Higuma Otoshi." That had been as close to embarrassed as he'd ever seen Yagyuu Hiroshi – in fact, it had probably been as close to sheepish as Yagyuu ever got.

He awoke to the annoying beeping of his alarm the next day. He turned over in bed and hit the snooze button – he didn't particularly need to be up for another half hour, he just liked to have two alarms, the first to knock him out of his REM/NREM cycle and the second to fully wake him. When his alarm went off again, he was wide-awake and ready for the day. Climbing out of bed, he grabbed his Hyoutei school uniform and headed for the shower.

As soon as he got to the courts, he saw Atobe and Jirou already there. Jirou had probably slept over at Atobe's, he thought. Atobe made him do that sometimes, so he could personally ensure that Jirou was at the tournament on time. "Morning," he greeted. Atobe just nodded at him, and Jirou drooled a little onto the towel Atobe had insightfully placed between his shoulder and Jirou's head.

Hyoutei was slotted to face Rikkai in the semifinals, and Seigaku in finals. In quarters though, they had the pleasure of drawing Kakinoki. Oshitari knew they would win easily and didn't really want to watch the match. Instead, he searched the posting list until he found Rikkai's match – they were playing one court over, against St. Rudolph.

Rikkai's cheerleaders were loud, but he could easily spot all the former third year Regulars he'd seen at Nationals last year. Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi were watching the D2 match intently, oblivious to everything else around them. Marui and Niou were whispering to each other with grins on their faces, probably plotting some master prank together. Jackal looked back and forth between the match and Marui and Niou, clearly both interested in the game and worried about what the two might be scheming. Yagyuu was nowhere to be found.

He sighed. Maybe Yagyuu hadn't come. After all, he wasn't playing, and therefore wasn't required to come watch a match, especially not if he had other things to do, like studying. One thing he'd learned about Yagyuu was that he was apparently a very hard working, good student, always scoring close to the top of his class. Another was that he took very good care of his little sister, always taking her out or helping her with her homework. He turned around to return to Hyoutei's match when a hand stopped him. "Hyoutei's prodigy, Oshitari Yuushi, isn't it?" a familiar voice asked. He looked over his shoulder at who it was.

"I'm sorry, you are?"

"St. Rudolph first year, Mizuki Hajime. I've heard you're Yagyuu Hiroshi's newest boy toy," the boy said, giving off a strange little sigh-laugh.

Oshitari raised an eyebrow as he turned to face Mizuki. He hadn't realized that his and Yagyuu's dating was already public knowledge, but more importantly, "Newest boy toy?" he repeated, perturbed at this Mizuki's word choice.

Mizuki made that weird sound again - Oshitari wondered if he should tell him that it wasn't cute - and gestured to a spot behind Oshitari. "You can always ask him for yourself," he said, brushing past him and walking away.

Oshitari wondered if he would stand there turning in circles for the rest of the day, as he about-faced yet again to see Yagyuu walking up behind him, one hand pushing his headphones back to rest around his oh-so-pale neck and the other turning off the radio-cassette player clipped to his belt. Another thing he'd learned about Yagyuu was that he followed the news as if his life depended on it, whether via newspaper, magazine, television, radio, what have you. "Morning," Yagyuu said. Before Oshitari could collect his thoughts, Yagyuu had already walked right up to him and, gently resting his hands on Oshitari's biceps, leaned in to press a kiss on his cheek. "What did Mizuki want?" Yagyuu asked, voice low and sending warm puffs of breath by Oshitari's ear.

If Mizuki hadn't said those words to him, Oshitari thought, Yagyuu's actions would definitely have him in a daze. As was, his heart was already beating a little faster at their closeness. "Nothing," he murmured. He'd gotten upset with Yagyuu when Niou had kissed him, and that had turned out to be nothing. All Mizuki did was say something, and he wasn't even sure if the boy was stable. He shouldn't keep acting like a jealous and possesive girl - Yagyuu, gentleman of the courts, deserved more than that. Instead, he pulled back slighty and, wrapping his arms around Yagyuu's waist, pulled in him closer and tilted his head to kiss him right on his so very tempting mouth.

"Oshitari -" Yagyuu started to question.

Oshitari decided he liked switching roles and being the one who confused Yagyuu sometimes. It was more fun that way. "Call me Yuushi," he said.

Yagyuu's startled face slowly smoothed into a cool smile. "Yuushi," he repeated.

"Yes?" Oshitari was veritably grinning at Yagyuu, enjoying the way his name sounded in that smooth, refined voice.

"You do realize your teammates are watching us right now."

"Excuse me?" He pulled away from Yagyuu and looked where Yagyuu was looking. Indeed, Atobe was watching them a few paces off with an amused expression on his face that simply said he would never let Oshitari live this down. Shishido was doing his best not to laugh, while Gakuto was clearly trying to bring Shishido to his doom by hugging thin air and making kissy faces. "Oh wonderful..." he muttered.

---

Oh what a weak link. XD For some reason, I kept thinking of the song "Accidentally in Love", by Counting Crows, I think? while writing this. Hence the title. XD 'Cause I think Oshitari's just crossed the border between like and love, not that it's easily defined or indicated.

I've just realized I probably screwed up - I thought the Newcomer's tournament was at the beginning of the year, but apparently it's at the end? Sorry...just pretend it's at the beginning. P


	14. Theme 15: perfect blue

Title: The Second Meeting: Just Like That  
Pairing: YuuTari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool. 

I live in the States. Hence, I can only write about events as if they occured similar to how events occur in the States. Forgive any unrealistic events, please.  
---

As expected, Hyoutei won the first round in straight sets. Rikkai lost singles three, but won both doubles and singles two. They would be meeting each other next week. "Can you come to Kanagawa this Thursday?" Yagyuu asked as they stood a small distance apart from the rest of the Rikkai team on the train platform. Shock must've been evident on Oshitari's face - Yagyuu had never asked him over before - because his next words were, "It's all right if you can't; I know you've got a lot to do."

"What for?" he asked, giving himself the proverbial mental kick immediately afterwards. Yagyuu was going to think he'd only go if he were interested in the activity, as opposed to because, well, Yagyuu would be there. Which, really, was enough reason for him to visit Kanagawa. Actually, it was probably strange that he hadn't already gone.

"My family's sort of hosting a pool party for our friends," Yagyuu said, relaxing all of Oshitari's runaway thoughts in an instant. "The rest of the team's coming, and you can bring friends, too." Oshitari wondered if Yagyuu was rambling, just a little. He wrote it off as just nervousness as the train pulled in. He waited for the roaring train to slow, so that he didn't have to yell, before he spoke again. The train had good timing - it gave him just enough time to think it over.

"All right," Oshitari found himself saying, as they walked towards the door of the train. "Should I bring anything?"

Yagyuu smiled, and Oshitari felt his pulse beating just a little faster. "No, just yourself and you know, swimming stuff." He paused, as if uncertain what to do. Just then, the rest of the Rikkai team had reached the doors, and Niou "accidentally" bumped shoulders, hard, with Oshitari, sending him tripping forward, right into Yagyuu's reflexively extended arms.

He immediately straightened and mumbled, "Sorry," staring at the ground. For a second there, he had felt a twinge of fright fly through his mind. Oshitari didn't see as Niou wink at Yagyuu while happily asking, "Sorry man, you OK?" even as he passed by them and entered the train. Yagyuu's hands were still on his elbows, steadying him, when they unexpectedly tugged forward, pulling him into a hug.

"See you Thursday, then," Yagyuu murmured. "Call me when you're coming; I'll come pick you up." Oshitari was still slightly bewildered at having been knocked off his balance twice in under two minutes when Yagyuu let go, definitely far too soon. He watched as Yagyuu turned to get on the train before it left.

Maybe it was because there was something breaking his routine, but the week seemed to go by slower than usual for Oshitari. Shishido had agreed to go with him - Gakuto had plans - and was going to bring Ohtori. He had been worried that three people might be too many, but Yagyuu assured him over IM that it wasn't too many at all, and that he could bring more if he liked.

Eventually, Thursday came. The weather was perfect for swimming - there wasn't a cloud in the sky and though it was hot, it wasn't the uncomfortable, sticky kind of hot. Oshitari was waiting outside the showers after morning practice, calling for Shishido to "hurry up and just rinse out that damned hair; it's going to get wet again anyway." Had his companion been anyone other than the always polite Ohtori, there definitely would've been a remark that Oshitari was too impatient to see Yagyuu. As was though, the teasing started and ended at the slight curving of Ohtori's lips.

Finally, Shishido finished and they headed towards the train station. Oshitari called Yagyuu just as the train was pulling out of the station, so he would know when to expect them. The ride seemed even longer than the past week - he should've brought a book. Shishido and Ohtori were too wrapped up in each other to care much about him.

Oshitari spotted Yagyuu as soon as the train pulled into the station, even before the doors opened. "Hey," Yagyuu greeted.

"Hi," Oshitari replied, feeling slightly awkward. Thankfully, Ohtori stepped in to save the day.

"Hi, I'm Ohtori Choutarou, Hyoutei Junior High third year," he said, sticking out his hand. "And this is Shishido Ryou, he's in the same class as Oshitari-senpai."

"Yagyuu Hiroshi, Rikkai High first year," Yagyuu responded, shaking the proffered hand. "My house isn't too far and the others have arrived; shall we go?" Oshitari nodded, and fell into step beside Yagyuu as Shishido and Ohtori followed. There was some small talk among the four of them until Yagyuu stopped in front of a gate and unlocked it. Going around to the back of the house, Yagyuu was suddenly attacked by a very excited, semi-naked Niou.

"Hiroshi, back just in time, save me!" Niou yelped, as a very wet, almost steaming with anger Kirihara Akaya climbed out of the pool. Oshitari's eyes widened at the size of Yagyuu's backyard. He'd known many of the Rikkai regulars had been rich, but he didn't know they were quite that rich. Yagyuu's house wasn't nearly as big as the massive Atobe estate, but it seriously rivaled Hiyoshi's.

"Not now, Niou," Yagyuu said, prying fingertips off of his polo shirt. "And Akaya-kun, please, don't kill anyone here."

It was easy, Oshitari thought, looking between the three teammates - because that's what they were, even if two had already graduated - for anyone to tell that Rikkai's demon, eyes calming as they shifted from Niou to Yagyuu, was very respectful of his senpai. "But Yagyuu-senpai, he pulled my shorts down," Kirihara whined. There was definitely no lingering traces of the demon in that elementary school tattle tell voice. Oshitari almost laughed.

"Niou, please refrain from R and above rated activities," Yagyuu said, tilting his head back to look at his partner. His glasses flashed as it caught and lost the sun's reflection, and Oshitari saw him rolling his eyes. So the awe-inspiring Rikkai tennis team had such children hiding in its midsts. Somehow, that made the otherwise intimidating team seem just that much more, well, real.

"Hiroshi, are these the friends you went to pick up?" A man in his mid-forties made his way over to the Hyoutei students as Kirihara returned to the pool and Niou went to find his next target. Oshitari suddenly realized something. He was at Yagyuu's house. Yagyuu's parents were obviously also at said house. That meant they were in the same place. Which also meant they would eventually meet, right? His mouth suddenly went dry. But he was Oshitari Yuushi, and Oshitari Yuushi was always cool, always suave (Seigaku- and Yagyuu-caused incidents were never to be mentioned in the light of day).

"Yagyuu-san," Oshitari greeted as the younger Yagyuu came towards them. "I'm Oshitari Yuushi, and these are my teammates Shishido Ryou and Ohtori Choutarou."

"Ah yes Hiroshi's talked a lot about you," Yagyuu's dad smiled, reaching out a hand and grasping Oshitari's in a firm shake, then repeating the greeting with Shishido and Ohtori. Oshitari was slightly surprised at the Western greeting, before remembering Yagyuu mentioning that his father worked with foreign investments. The words sunk in then, and he felt kind of strange at knowing that Yagyuu had told his parents about him, at least in some way.

"All good things, I hope?" he asked, smirking just a little.

"Of course, of course," Yagyuu said, resting a firm grip on Oshitari's shoulder. "But dad, I think we're going to go talk with Sanada-kun for a bit, shouldn't you be getting back to your guests?"

As Yagyuu's father retreated with a "Nice meeting you boys," Oshitari asked, "Say, could you tell me where your bathroom is?"

"Why don't I show you?"

"Sure," Shishido cut in. "Take your time guys, we'll go mingle." He was dragging Ohtori over to where Sanada, Yukimura and Yanagi were standing underneath the shade of some trees before the words even left his mouth. Oshitari wondered when Shishido ever "mingled," but didn't mind as Yagyuu showed him into the house.

They climbed the stairs silently, and once at the top, Yagyuu pointed out a door and said, "It's right in there."

Locking the door behind him, Oshitari turned on the faucet and wet his face. "What am I doing?" he muttered, turning off the faucet as he stared at himself in the mirror. Had Yagyuu already told his parents about their relationship? Oshitari knew he certainly hadn't yet told his own parents about Yagyuu. Then again, Yagyuu had come to Tokyo quite often lately - it would be natural for his parents to have asked why, right? Shaking his head, he decided to not mull over it any longer. Quickly doing what he needed to do, he opened the door only to find Yagyuu leaning against the doorway across the hall. "You didn't need to wait for me?" he said, surprised.

"I wanted to." Yagyuu entered the room and motioned for Oshitari to follow.

"Is this your room?" Yagyuu answered with a nod. The curtains were open and Oshitari could see the perfect blue waters of the pool below contrasting gorgeously with the green of the grass and trees around it, as well as the colorful outfits of the people enjoying themselves. There were some boxes on one side of the window, and a dresser on the other. Carefully placed along the dresser were several picture frames. "Are these you?" he asked, back towards Yagyuu as he looked at the photos.

Oshitari wondered why Yagyuu wasn't responding and had just turned his head a little to look back at the boy when he felt two arms wrap around his waist and a cheek pressing against his temple, rubbing lightly as Yagyuu nodded - Yagyuu had clearly grown taller than him at some time since junior high. "Is something wrong?" he asked, feeling quite confused as Yagyuu pressed a light kiss on his neck, underneath his ear. His eyes darted back and forth, searching for something to focus on, when he again looked at the boxes in the corner of the room. Shipping labels, waiting to be filled out and adhered, rested on the ground next to them.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," Yagyuu murmured into his hair, slightly behind his ear. Oshitari stiffened, completely bewildered and at a loss for words.

"Ya-"

"Use my name." Yagyuu hadn't moved, and Oshitari could feel his warm breath breezing along his neck, sending shivers down his back.

"Hi-Hiroshi?" Yagyuu shifted slightly, then pulled Oshitari in tighter and leaned forward. This kiss was the complete opposite from the first one - it was hard, forceful, desperate, nothing like the teasing gentleness of last time. Yagyuu's lips pressed hard against his own as a hand disentangled itself from his waist to push against the back of his head. Yagyuu took advantage of the slight gap between Oshitari's lips from saying his name and forced his tongue through, then, just a little bit more gently, started to prod around his clenched teeth. Meanwhile, his hands were softly massaging Oshitari's body - one against his neck and one around his hip - and Oshitari remembered wondering, just briefly, if the others could see them through the window before all thought left him. He relaxed his jaw, his own tongue moving up to start pressing against Yagyuu's and they started to slide and sort of, well, battle, almost, each other.

When he finally broke away so he could breathe, Oshitari had to blink a few times to reorient himself. His voice refused to say anything, so his eyes did the questioning for him. Yagyuu leaned his forehead against Oshitari's temple and whispered, "My dad was transferred. We're moving to China in a month."

---  
This part was a heck of a pain to write for some reason. Everything was rewritten and replotted at least twice, some parts three times. .;  
YES I am halfway done with 30kisses. :P


	15. Theme 16: invincible, unrivaled

Title: The Second Meeting: Category, Lost  
Pairing: YuuTari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool. 

I will not write angst, I will not write angst, I will not write angst... (yea right)

* * *

Oshitari got up extra early on Saturday to go wait at the train station. The platform looked rather lonely at that hour on a Saturday morning, even though on weekdays it would be jam packed with rush hour commuters. He watched as an empty train stopped and opened its doors for ghost passengers. It roared away - there would be another twenty minutes before the next train.

Slowly, people began to join him on the platform. Some were dressed in T-shirts and shorts, complete with fully stuffed backpacks and children held by the hand - most likely families going on a one day vacation. Others were dressed a bit better, carrying nicely wrapped boxes and lacking the air of tourism - probably couples visiting friends or relatives. He heard the rumbling of an incoming train as he watched a father tie a bonnet on his daughter while the mother looked on smiling.

"Yuushi." Yagyuu was standing next to him.

"Aww look at that, Oshitari-kun's come to pick up Hiroshi!" Niou teased. "How about a hello kiss? Like they do in France." He puckered his lips and kissed the air, causing even Yukimura to crack a smile. Even so, Oshitari caught a wisp of, well, it wasn't sadness, or nostalgia, but something along those lines, in Niou's eyes before they were whisked away by a mask of mirth. He wondered if Niou knew about Yagyuu's moving and was upset about losing his partner.

Oshitari tilted one edge of his mouth up in a semi-smirk. "With pleasure," he agreed, leaning up to lightly kiss both corners of Yagyuu's mouth. Eyebrows raised, someone whistled, and laughter broke out as Niou stared, too surprised at someone standing up to his previously unrivaled mischievousness to whip out a witty return.

Sanada gave Niou's head a light shove and started walking away. "Come on, leave them alone. Yagyuu, we'll go ahead of you."

Yagyuu nodded just as Marui added, "Don't dally too long now, children!"

"Nicely done," Yagyuu gently chuckled when they were out of earshot, and started walking after his teammates.

"Thank you," Oshitari mock-bowed. His mood sobered as he remembered why he had met Yagyuu at the station this time instead of just waiting at the courts as usual. Falling into step besides Yagyuu, he reached a hand out towards Yagyuu's before withdrawing it.

One thing Oshitari had first realized when watching Yagyuu play tennis was that he didn't miss many things. Yagyuu grabbed Oshitari's hand without even looking at him, as if it were perfectly natural. It was natural, Oshitari thought, tightening his fingers a bit, lacing them through Yagyuu's own.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked. There was no need to elucidate what he was talking about. That day, everything had become clear pretty quickly. The party had been more of a celebration party for Yagyuu's father's promotion, as well as a going away party of sorts. After saying those words, Yagyuu had unwrapped himself from Oshitari and sat down heavily on his futon, arms resting on his crossed legs, staring at the ground in front of him. Oshitari, having been bombarded by the declaration of love, the kiss, and the news, had simply sat down on the floor where he stood. They'd both gotten up and returned to the party when Oshitari noted the time, and nothing more had been said.

"I hadn't realized it'd get this serious," Yagyuu responded. Oshitari had to give him credit for being so blunt. To tell the truth, he hadn't thought it would, either, so it wasn't like he could blame Yagyuu for thinking the same.

"Ya-Yagyuu-san," a voice brokenly interrupted them from behind. Stopping, Oshitari looked over his shoulder to see part of the St. Rudolph team, including Mizuki. He felt Yagyuu's hand loosen, and he let go so they could turn around and face the other boys. The black haired one, with a thin red ribbon tied around his head, had spoken. He was staring at Yagyuu, apparently struggling with something inside him.

"Atsushi, maybe we should just leave dane." The guy who just spoke looked familiar also - Gakuto had started calling him "Rudolph's ducky" some time ago, and Oshitari remembered that better than the boy's name. The one called Atsushi bowed his head a little, shaking it in negation of the proposal. He looked somewhat familiar with his head bowed like that - kind of like that Rokkaku player, Kisarazu Ryou.

"How are you, Kisarazu-kun?" Yagyuu asked politely, and Oshitari raised an eyebrow. Did Rokkaku's player have a brother? Maybe he had heard something about that back in middle school. He saw Mizuki's eyes narrowing in a smirk, and wondered if something had happened. Mizuki's words came back to him.

_"I've heard you're Yagyuu Hiroshi's newest boy toy."_ Followed by that disgusting laugh.

"You... you're..." Kisarazu Atsushi stammered out, before pushing past his teammates and running away.

"Atsushi!" the duck called out. "You're one hell of a bastard, dane," he spat at Yagyuu before chasing after his friend. Mizuki laughed again, before walking off after his teammates.

Yagyuu and Oshitari were left looking at each other. "What was that all about?" Oshitari asked. Mizuki's words refused to leave his mind.

"My ex," Yagyuu replied, looking as if he were going to sigh. Instead, he put an arm on Oshitari's back and directed them to start walking towards the courts again. "You know how Mizuki's a meddling little thing? He managed to contact Marui, who thought it'd be a good joke to set me up. I went, found Kisarazu to be rather cute - supposedly he was a fan of mine? - and so dated him for awhile. Some things happened though, and I ended up breaking up with him."

"When was this?" Oshitari felt there was something off about what Yagyuu was saying. Had that been the case, Kisarazu Atsushi wouldn't have acted like that, would he? At least the ducky shouldn't have.

"Last month," Yagyuu said, completely deadpan. Oshitari felt Yagyuu's hand pulling him closer - snaking around his waist and tightening - as his mind came to realize something. Yagyuu broke up with Kisarazu last month. He and Yagyuu had started seeing each other more than a month ago.

"Wait... was I what happened?" he asked, body wanting to slow down, but Yagyuu's arm around him pushed him to keep going at a normal pace. He started wondering at the "gentlemanly" exterior of Yagyuu Hiroshi. Gentlemen didn't cheat in a relationship, did they?

"You were part of it," Yagyuu confirmed. "The other part I'd rather not talk about, if it's OK. Not right now, anyway."

"Yea," Oshitari nodded. He understood, right? Yagyuu wouldn't lie, though he apparently would keep secrets. Yagyuu had confused him time and again in their "relationship", but the way he was feeling now certainly was in a category of its own.

* * *

Yeap. OK so I decided against using Mizuki himself and used poor little Sushi instead. pets 


	16. Theme 17: kHz kilohertz

Title: The Second Meeting: Sweet Melody  
Pairing: YuuTari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

"Yuushi, when you listen to music, do you listen for the lyrics or the sound?"

Oshitari wondered if all Yagyuu ever did was change the topic. "Probably the sound - I listen to a lot of techno - but what does that have to do with what just happened?"

"Why the sound? Why not the lyrics?" Yagyuu pressed. He probably had some deeper meaning in mind, Oshitari figured.

"Well, music is good for the feelings it conveys through the sound. Words can be lies, sound cannot." He didn't know where this was coming from, but it sounded plausible. It was true, anyway. He didn't really pay attention to lyrics when doing homework, but he definitely listened to the music.

"The human ear can only hear sound between 20hertz to 20 kilohertz - that's only about 120 pitches. To be literate in Chinese, you need to know more than 2000 Chinese characters. Don't you find it amazing how those 120 pitches can convey more truth than the thousands of words in our daily vocabulary?"

By now, they had started walking again, if only to make sure they didn't miss the entire match. Oshitari found his gaze focused on the trees lining the sidewalk as he thought over what Yagyuu just said. He still wasn't sure of its relevance, but he was sure there was something there. Yagyuu would never waste so many words on something unimportant.

"Would my explaining everything make things OK? Lyrics are easy to say, but truth is not as easy to convey. Regardless of what words were spoken today, does that change the feelings between us? You and Atobe once dated - does that matter anymore, even though he still has the keys to your house and I've never even met your parents?"

Oshitari didn't say anything as they stopped for a red light. Yagyuu was right, of course, and besides, he only had a month before Yagyuu left. At the opposite side of the street, he reached for Yagyuu's hand again, this time confidently grabbing onto it. He returned Yagyuu's faint smile with a twitch of his own mouth. They would be OK.

They didn't speak the rest of the way to the courts. By the time they finally reached the match, doubles one was already playing, but neither of them were really interested in the match. "Will you be coming back, or is it permanent?" Oshitari asked, breaking the silence. They weren't holding hands anymore, but they definitely stood out as the lone pair standing a little off to the side in the contrasting uniforms of the opposing teams. Even Atobe had refrained from searching out Yukimura, opting instead to talk with the senpai on the Hyoutei team.

"It's still unclear. You know how it's because the company just opened up a new branch in Shanghai? His main job is to oversee the hiring of personnel, so they'll either have him come back or leave him there to manage things." Oshitari glanced at Yagyuu. He was taken aback by how attractive Yagyuu actually was - it was kind of odd that he hadn't noticed that fact yet. Wisps of sun kissed hair danced in the wind, contrasting with, yet matching, the green backdrop of trees surrounding the court. Rikkai's striped tie enhanced the fact that the white shirt was buttoned all the way even outside of school. His arms were folded over his chest, the perpetual black power wrists resting against each other reminding onlookers that despite his lanky frame, Yagyuu was an accomplished sportsman. The only flaw to his appearance was his untucked shirt, except it somehow only served to make him more impeccable. "Is there something wrong?"

Oshitari blinked, realizing that his glance had turned into a thoroughly admiring stare, and the mild lilt in Yagyuu's voice indicated that he had been caught. "No, nothing's wrong," he muttered, quickly looking back at the courts. Were he one to gamble, he would've bet that a smirk was probably gracing Yagyuu's face at the moment - despite his reputation, Yagyuu did have both a vain and a sadistic streak in him, both probably remnants of Niou's influence.

"I'll apply for college here though, regardless."

Oshitari caught his breath as his back stiffened. The sheer hope that washed through his thoughts betrayed exactly how upset he had been that he may never see Yagyuu again, which he had effectively hidden even from himself up through now. He congratulated himself on keeping a seemingly stoic face, though. "Oh? Why's that?" As soon as he said it, he wanted to take it back - those words made it sound like he didn't _want_ Yagyuu to return, which was far from the truth.

"Japan is my home," Yagyuu replied, voice just a little colder than before. Had Oshitari's words left the wrong impression on him?

"Of course," Oshitari muttered, slightly disappointed, raising his head to look at the game. With what he had said, did he really expect anything else? With his own indifference, hadn't he guaranteed Yagyuu's as well? "I'm sure you'll make it - you're such a great student and athlete, which college wouldn't want you?"

"Can I ask you to wait for me?"

Oshitari blinked, then turned to look at Yagyuu. A long heartbeat later, he gave a slow nod. The slight upturn on the corners of Yagyuu's mouth was matched on Oshitari's own.

* * *

Yagyuu's random trivia ramble is actually true - I've been doing a lot of signal processing (I'm an EECS major), and that was one of the things I had to measure and deal with. I'm also a Chinese minor, and that was one of the first things I learned in my first class (it's actually 3000, but eh). P 


	17. Theme 18: say ahh

Title: The Second Meeting: Oshitari's Day Out  
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari stretched and blinked, the soft light of the early morning sun filtering into his room through his open blinds. Hyoutei had won yesterday's match, which wasn't surprising, as Rikkai's best players wouldn't be on the Regulars team until winter. But that wasn't what had him smiling as the sugarplum fairies faded out of existence. Yagyuu had invited him along to a game of golf with Sanada and Yanagi. He wasn't sure why in particular Yagyuu played golf with those two, but it would be interesting to see what Yagyuu usually did on days off. 

Looking at the clock, he quickly dressed (in non-preppy clothing, mind you - a nice untucked shirt and khakis were normal clothing) and grabbed a matching visor before heading out the door.

"I presume you've already met, but in any case, Oshitari Yuushi, Sanada Genichirou, Yanagi Renji." Yagyuu made clear gestures as he said the names of individuals so famous in the junior tennis world that they needed no introduction. Greetings were murmured around the circle as the two sized up the one, and vice versa. Oshitari was quite surprised that Sanada and Yagyuu were wearing polo shirts tucked into pressed slacks, while Yanagi was actually decked out in a short-sleeved dress shirt, knit vest and slacks, complete with matching half gloves. Given where they were, it was to be expected, but he was still glad that he was wearing what he was.

"Have you ever played golf before, Oshitari-san?" Yanagi asked. It was kind of weird, having Yanagi's closed eyes "looking" at him.

"No, not really. Atobe's made me play before, but I never really picked it up," Oshitari replied as they headed towards the entrance of the club's golf course. Ever since realizing exactly how well-off the Rikkai Regulars were, the fact that the three boys' families belonged to the same elite club came as no surprise - in fact, he had half expected it. However, he hadn't thought that the three had played golf together since the beginning of middle school.

"So you know the basic terms and rules then?" Yanagi continued, as Yagyuu told the desk worker what equipment they needed to rent.

"Yes... just one set, Yagyuu?" Oshitari queried. It would be odd if they were sharing equipment at such a ritzy place.

"We all have our own - I'm sure Atobe-san did too, ahn?" Yagyuu smirked, paying for the rental before Oshitari could protest. A look, uncaught by Oshitari, was passed between Sanada and Yanagi, who then directed their eyes back to Yagyuu.

After the three Rikkai boys had retrieved their equipment from their lockers, they headed out to what Sanada claimed was an easy course. An hour later, Oshitari really didn't want to know what Sanada thought of as a "difficult course" as his eighth shot on a "par three hole," whatever that was, again dipped into the hole before rolling right back out. Sanada and Yanagi had each finished with three hits, Yagyuu with two, while his first shot didn't even make the green and his second landed in the rough.

Beyond just slightly embarrassed now, Oshitari moved to position himself again when he heard a sound behind him. "Yuushi, want some help?" Yagyuu asked. At first, he wasn't sure if that was a little too debasing, but upon further reflection of how he might never pass this hole, Oshitari made a small, grateful sound of assent. He was about to move aside for Yagyuu to take his place when he felt a chest press lightly against his back, as two hands wrapped around his and changed his position ever so slightly.

"Take a deep breath and stand up straight," Yagyuu whispered into his ear. Oshitari could feel a faint flush rising up his neck - Sanada and Yanagi were standing a mere few feet away, watching them, and Yagyuu was practically cuddling with him? "Don't move below your hips. Just a light tap will do, but make sure your body is doing the swinging, not just your arms. That should be enough power to not fall short." Yagyuu was either oblivious to or fully enjoying the compromising position they were in; at the moment, Oshitari wasn't sure which was right.

Yagyuu's warmth was finding its way through their thin clothing easily, and the mild cologne that Yagyuu was wearing - that he always wore, come to think of it - permeated Oshitari's thoughts. It was deep and just a little spicy, both calming and stimulating, kind of like the gentleman himself. He forced his muscles to relax and let Yagyuu rotate his chest and arms ever so little, before releasing the light tap. The dimpled white ball rolled slowly but surely towards the ever-elusive hole, wavering just a little on the edge before falling in.

"See? Nice and easy." Yagyuu ghosted a kiss at the top of Oshitari's jawbone, slightly behind his earlobe, before releasing him. Oshitari felt a shiver run through his spine. "Shall we head towards the next hole?" Yagyuu asked the others, retrieving the ball and handing it back to Oshitari.

"Sorry for holding up your game," Oshitari said, as sheepish as he ever got.

"Don't worry about it." That only made Sanada's fourth sentence that day, Oshitari mused. This boy was more silent than Hiyoshi, and Hiyoshi only spoke when necessary.

At the end of the day, after saying goodbye to Yanagi and Sanada, Yagyuu walked Oshitari to the train station. "I hope you weren't too bored today," Yagyuu said.

"No, it was interesting, seeing what you three do." Oshitari looked up at the clear, early twilight sky that was no longer day, not yet night. It was kind of like their situation - Yagyuu was no longer really here, but not yet gone. Fitting. "Sanada-san doesn't talk a lot, does he." It was more a statement than a question, but Yagyuu chuckled and answered anyway.

"No, Sanada thinks of speaking as we think of chores - something to be done only because others tell us we should. And I suppose you found Yanagi's idea of 'seeing' to be unnerving also?"

"Actually, I did," Oshitari smiled at his boyfriend. Their eyes met just as the train roared in, and the smiles melted from both of their faces.

"Well, I'll be seeing you, then," Oshitari finally spoke, turning to get on the train.

"See you," Yagyuu echoed.

As the train pulled out of the station, Oshitari's cell phone rang. Yagyuu's picture lit up the display screen. "Hello?"

"Yuushi, if I come on the next train, will you..." Yagyuu's voice, wavering in its uncertainty, paused for a moment. Just as there was a deep intake a breath for more words, Oshitari interrupted.

"Yes."

* * *

They're 15. Gotta keep reminding myself that they're still freshmen in high school. Freshmen! Granted, I was a junior when I was 15, but I still didn't act like that. ;kjlasdf.  
Oh golf. Haha. My knowledge of golf starts and ends at "people hit balls into holes" and I only did a little bit of research for it, so please tell me if parts are abhorrently incorrect. If I were to write about my sports though... I already did skating, and I don't think they could get 15-year-olds into pistol ranges as easily as they can a golf course. So, manga!PoT, meet anime!PoT.  
As usual, comments are loved, critiques are adored. chapters, anyway, for which we will return to our regular programming.  
I have a guilty liking for SanaAto, even if I gave Atobe to Jirou for this fic. P Comment, critiques, errors appreciated. 


	18. Theme 19: red

Title: The Second Meeting: Wonderful Days  
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

While waiting for Yagyuu, Oshitari called his parents to inform them that he was going to take a friend around Tokyo for a while and would probably eat out. They never minded what he did, as long as he had his homework done and had his cell phone on so they could reach him if necessary. His mother even told him to invite his friend over afterwards. 

When Yagyuu arrived, neither of them said anything. Both of them wondered exactly what Yagyuu had been thinking, coming to Tokyo on a whim like that, but neither wished for things to be any different. "Are you hungry?" Oshitari asked, after they'd been walking around the streets of Shibuya for the better part of half an hour. It was long past his usual dinnertime, though the summer sun still lingered in the sky, bravely fighting the dark night sky with a brilliant palette of burning colors.

"Actually, I am," Yagyuu replied, voice containing a wisp of surprise, as if he hadn't realized he was hungry until Oshitari mentioned it. "Do you know of any good restaurants around here?"

Oshitari smiled, knowing just the right place. "Follow me - you don't mind American-style food, do you?" Yagyuu shook his head, looking slightly amused. Oshitari decided he would thoroughly enjoy himself today. As they headed towards Ohtori's favorite restaurant, Oshitari regaled Yagyuu with tales of previous Shibuya excursions. He described the time Ohtori was stopped by some modeling scout, which resulted in Shishido frightening away the poor woman with a bombardment of questions about the agency and Atobe's subsequent tirade about how the scout must have been fake or blind, because how could a real scout want Ohtori instead of ore-sama himself? Jirou had to finally pacify him by saying that maybe the nice lady was too scared to talk to Atobe-sama.

Since they'd first started dating, Oshitari had noticed that Yagyuu very rarely let loose and expressed his emotions straight out - in fact, he never did. Maybe it was the situation, maybe they had reached some new point in their relationship, but whatever it was, Yagyuu had given an earnest, albeit short, laugh at the story, and was wearing an honest smile by the time they reached the restaurant, The Red House. "What do you think?" he asked, when they were seated in a quiet, corner booth and looking at the menus. True to its name, the restaurant had red-painted pillars and support beams. While the menu was distinctly Western, the restaurant itself looked very traditionally Chinese.

"Fancy," Yagyuu murmured, eyebrows slightly raised as he looked over the menu. "I knew Americans didn't always eat hamburgers and pizza, but these dishes actually look somewhat refined."

"Yea, I was surprised the first time Ohtori dragged us here, also. He isn't usually a pushy person, but he practically demanded that we come here once." Oshitari barely glanced over the menu before knowing what he wanted. Instead, he studied the way the light from the candle in the middle of their table flickered and danced over Yagyuu's face. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Yagyuu folded his menu and set it down.

"So Ohtori-san introduced you to this place? I don't know him very well, but he does seem to be the type who would like quiet places like this." Yagyuu pushed his glasses up a bit, sat back and folded his hands on the table.

"I suppose. He's always been the most Westernized out of all of us - there's even a rumor saying that he might study abroad next year. He said his dad took him here; apparently it's a sister store of one in Shanghai." They gave the waiter their orders, and waited until he was out of earshot before continuing their conversation.

"That waiter was hot," Yagyuu pointed out. Oshitari, having just swallowed a drink of water, actually spluttered, which caused Yagyuu to grin as he leaned forward. Oshitari wondered if Yagyuu was testing him, or if he really thought that... little boy, really, was hot. He decided it was better to play along and see.

"I'm offended." Before, well, before "teenage troubles" started affecting his life, Oshitari Yuushi had always been a calm and cool guy, with a wit quick enough to challenge even the best of seventeenth century noblemen. Some of that seemed to be making a comeback. He raised an eyebrow, invoking a holier-than-thou tone. "You have poor taste."

"Do I now? What about you then?" Yagyuu had sufficiently pinned Oshitari against a rock and a hard spot - he would either have to acknowledge that his taste was as poor as Yagyuu's, or praise Yagyuu. He came to a quick decision while the waiter in question returned to set down their drinks - green tea for himself, black for Yagyuu.

"Unfortunately, I seem to have better taste than you." Oshitari took a sip of the cool green liquid. It was strong and bitter - from China, probably - just how he liked it. He watched Yagyuu for any reactions, wondering if he'd said the right thing.

Yagyuu tasted his own tea, making a pleased expression at its quality, before pressing, "Prove it. Name the hottest guy on the circuit."

Oshitari's next breath was half guffaw, half snicker. He was supposed to tell his boyfriend who he thought was hot? This could get interesting. His mind quickly shuffled through all the players he and Atobe had ever talked about, both as tennis players and as boys interested in, well, boys. He quickly came to a decision as he recalled something Atobe once said, and his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Sanada Genichirou. You?"

Without skipping a beat, Yagyuu leaned over the table (including the candle, a corner of Oshitari's brain worried), and breathed, "You." He snuck a quick kiss from Oshitari, lips sliding across lips with ever so little pressure, pulling away and sitting back down just as Oshitari's mouth opened in surprise. Even after Yagyuu was sitting back down again, Oshitari could taste the lingering drops of the reddish-black tea that Yagyuu had been drinking - elegant and refined, like Yagyuu himself. It was simply amazing, Oshitari thought, how Yagyuu could do something like that one second and be as calm as if he'd just taken an afternoon stroll the next. "Really? Sanada, huh. Maybe I should inform him of that."

Oshitari blinked, shaking his head slightly. It was disconcerting, how Yagyuu could turn the tables on him just like that - that was something he used to do to people. Still, he was Oshitari Yuushi, and Oshitari Yuushi didn't give up that easily. "What, that your boyfriend thinks he's hotter than you?" He was blissfully unaware of the many nearby tables giving them disapproving looks - such public displays of affection just weren't usually done, especially in places like restaurants. Yagyuu made a face, as if to say sure, why not. "It's true though, you know. Atobe even once had a crush on him - that's got to count for something in and of itself."

Now it was Yagyuu's turn to look incredulous. "I never would've guessed. Though, oddly, I can see it. It could definitely work. Now that would be hot."

Just then, their starters came. As Yagyuu picked up a spoon for his chowder, Oshitari asked, "Would you like to come to my house after dinner?"

"I was wondering if you'd ever ask," Yagyuu responded, without missing a single beat.

* * *

I was so tempted to do red rose (passionate love), or red-tipped yellow rose (falling in love). Haha oh the sap that would've been. For obvious reasons, that didn't happen. But they could use some happiness before the next few chapters, anyway, for which we will return to our regular programming.  
I have a guilty liking for SanaAto, even if I gave Atobe to Jirou for this fic. P Comment, critiques, errors appreciated. chapters, anyway, for which we will return to our regular programming.  
I have a guilty liking for SanaAto, even if I gave Atobe to Jirou for this fic. P Comment, critiques, errors appreciated. 


	19. Theme 20: the road home

Title: The Second Meeting: Right  
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

As they headed towards Oshitari's house, he wondered exactly how he ought to introduce Yagyuu to his family. Should he tell them he was just a friend, or should he introduce him as a boyfriend? It wasn't as if his parents prohibited him from dating; they really didn't care what he did, as long as his grades stayed up. Maybe it would be easier to just tell them the truth.

As it turned out though, he didn't need to say anything. "Ah Yuushi, you're back. We were just about to head out - oh, is this your friend? Sorry we can't stay, we're late to a company party. Keiko's out on a date, so you'll have the house to yourselves," his mother called out as his parents passed them at the front door. Yagyuu chuckled as they entered the house.

"Well, that's that," Oshitari said, slipping out of his shoes and getting a pair of slippers for Yagyuu. "Do you want to watch a movie?" He wasn't sure exactly why he'd asked Yagyuu over; he had just wanted some more privacy than outside where people were everywhere. A movie was always good, though. According to Shishido, it was one of the few activities for which silence was not only not awkward, but even expected.

"Sure; what movies do you have?"

A few minutes later, they were settled on the couch in the dimmed family room, watching some movie that Oshitari had never heard of before and would probably never remember. It wasn't even in Japanese; it was in French with Japanese subtitles, and Oshitari's mind wasn't interested enough to closely read the subtitles. He was too busy focusing on the fact that Yagyuu was sitting right next to him, left arm resting along the top of the couch behind Oshitari's head. He wasn't sure if he ought to lean into the inviting body next to him, or just sit straight and ignore it.

Regardless of any of that though, Oshitari decided that something about this all felt OK. It wasn't like watching movies with Atobe - that always involved theatre-like settings and fancy snacks and other such uncomfortable things that made movie-watching an experience in and of itself. Something like this was decidedly nicer, when everything was familiar and the only part that was different was the company. That made the company interesting, and Oshitari at the moment certainly wanted to be more interested in Yagyuu than in their environment.

"Do you always pick the girly movies?" It wasn't until the words were already out of his mouth that he'd realized exactly what he'd said.

Yagyuu chuckled quietly. It was a quiet, muffled sound, but Oshitari could see the tightening of his diaphragm and slight shaking of shoulders. "Maybe. I'm sorry; do you want to watch something different? I don't particularly mind."

"No, it's perfectly all right. I was just curious." Oshitari decided that what he "ought" and "ought not" do just simply wasn't important, and leaned slightly against the boy next to him. "Do you understand French?"

"A little." Since his eyes were on the screen, Oshitari was left to wonder if Yagyuu was smiling at that. He decided that Yagyuu's lips probably held the usual slight curve - with the left corner just a little bit higher than the right, pressing in a shadow of a dimple - which Yagyuu always wore when he was relaxed. "My dad studied abroad in Paris for a year when he was in college, and he's taught me some over the years."

There was silence as a particularly intense scene captivated their attentions. "That's cool. I should probably learn a second language sometime also." He'd always thought French would be more useful to him than English, especially if he were to pursue a career in chemistry. France and America both had a lot of possibilities for chemists, but France's history in the pure sciences was just that much stronger than America's.

"In today's world, knowing a European language and an Asian language seems to be all but required," Yagyuu agreed.

"Teach me something, then," Oshitari joked. "How would I introduce myself in French?"

"Je m'appelle, and then your name. Like 'je m'appelle Hiroshi'." Perhaps the language of the movie had permeated his thoughts, perhaps Yagyuu's smooth voice just affected him like that, but for some reason, Oshitari initially thought that Yagyuu had been speaking solely in Japanese. It took him a second to realize that he had in fact been switching between two languages.

"Say that again?" he asked, having completely lost interest in the movie. He sat up and turned to face Yagyuu. The words seemed to flow smoothly, nothing like the sharp syllables of Japanese.

"Je. M'appelle. Hiroshi," Yagyuu repeated slowly. He clearly didn't attempt to add any particular enunciation to the words, but they sounded so clear and strong all the same.

"Je, m'appelle, Yuushi." Oshitari fumbled a bit with the unfamiliar tongue shapes, but managed to bite out something that sounded reasonably similar to what Yagyuu had said. They repeated this a few times, until Yagyuu deemed Oshitari's accent passable. They moved on to asking for a name, asking for the time, and other such phrases that they always taught any beginner in a language - the movie was just providing background noise now.

Oshitari found himself really getting into this mini lesson. Though he rarely admitted it, there was something of a romantic in him, and Yagyuu speaking French suited him just fine. Suddenly, before Oshitari could move, Yagyuu had leaned forward and lightly pressed their lips together. "Je t'adore, I love you." Oshitari could feel the slight movements of Yagyuu's mouth forming each word. He managed to repeat the words back to Yagyuu before Yagyuu tilted his head just a little, fitting their lips together the way they were meant to be. One of Yagyuu's hands slid around his neck, the other presumably braced against the couch as the gentleman pressed forward, pushing Oshitari backwards to lie down against the cushions. The entire time, Oshitari stared straight into Yagyuu's brown eyes, watching them darken and shimmer intensely.

Unable to resist - and not really wanting to anyway - Oshitari returned the kiss, allowing it to deepen as he felt Yagyuu all but climb on top of him. His left leg hung off the side of the couch, allowing Yagyuu to kneel in between his thighs. Yagyuu's hand felt so good massaging light circles in his neck, he could only manage to lightly grip at Yagyuu's back, pulling him in, closer. Then Yagyuu moved his other hand to start stroking lightly at his hip, and Oshitari couldn't manage to keep his eyes open anymore.

When Yagyuu slipped his left hand underneath his shirt and ran teasing fingers along his waist and up the side of his abdomen, Oshitari brought his right arm around to rest across Yagyuu's shoulders, hand pushing into Yagyuu's short hair to pull his head closer than ever, incidentally also granting Yagyuu access to push his shirt up. It felt so good to have Yagyuu's hand sliding up and down his side, as their tongues pressed and curled against each other. Suddenly, Oshitari's eyes flew open as he broke the kiss, gasping as Yagyuu brushed a thumb across his nipple.

"Wait," he said, arms releasing Yagyuu as he pushed down on the couch, effectively sliding out from under Yagyuu. He smoothed down his shirt with one hand and fixed his glasses with the other as Yagyuu sat back, looking just a little flushed for wear. Both of them were breathing just a little bit heavier than normal.

-  
Yay for writing on planes. P comments, critiques, errors, D


	20. Theme 21: violence, pillage, plunder

Title: The Second Meeting: See You Later   
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Yagyuu had given him two goodbye kisses before they parted at the airport. The first one had been almost violent in its desperateness – Yagyuu had first grabbed onto both sides of Oshitari's neck, pushed a leg between Oshitari's and simply plundered his mouth. Oshitari had been only capable of leaning against the wall behind him and weakly trying to stay standing, fingers digging into and trying to find friction along the smooth wall to help hold his body up. Yagyuu had pressed in even closer, and Oshitari's knees had given out. He had slid down against Yagyuu's thigh and his neck had tilted up – Yagyuu was practically on top of him when they had broken apart, staring into each other's eyes, chests heaving against each other. In retrospect, there had been something hard against his own thigh at that point – perhaps Yagyuu had also been aroused.

After that, he had stretched his neck up and touched their lips together again. That time, the kiss had been slower and sweeter. Yagyuu's hands had searched their way down until they wrapped around his waist, while his own hands had wrapped around Yagyuu's shoulders. He wasn't sure which one he had liked more.

And then, he had let go. Oshitari had been left barely standing, leaning heavily against the wall, arms hanging limply at his sides. "Ja ne," Yagyuu had said, simply.

Before Yagyuu turned to leave though, he had gathered up enough energy to reach an arm up and pull Yagyuu back in. Oshitari buried his face in Yagyuu's neck and breathed in deeply. "Ja," he had managed to exhale. "I'll be waiting." As Yagyuu had walked away to join his family, he'd turned back and held up a hand. Oshitari had raised a hand in return, fingers curled, still leaning against the wall. Even after Yagyuu had turned the corner and disappeared from view, Oshitari could still feel his warmth pressing against him.

* * *

I thought about writing more to the story afterwards, but decided that this was stronger by itself. .; So that's why it's short.  
Oh this entire storyline makes me laugh with its cheeziness. #.#  
Aw so Yagyuu's headed for China; now what lies ahead? pets the poor boys and what's in store for them  
Comments/errors/etc. welcome 


	21. Theme 22: cradle

Title: The Second Meeting: Life Continues  
Pairing: YuuTari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Long distance was hard, but he could get used to it. They kept in touch over instant messaging and emails, so for the first few weeks, it was as if Yagyuu hadn't even left Japan. School had started again before Yagyuu had even left, so there were times when he could pretend that Yagyuu was still at Rikkai, and that they would be meeting that weekend at whatever the given tournament was.

The problem was that even though the weekend would roll around and the match would occur, there was never again a Yagyuu Hiroshi present. He saw Rikkai countless times – thankfully, none of them ever made an effort to talk to him, not even Niou – but there was a big empty spot where a refined, sophisticated boy should have stood, fixing his glasses with one hand and holding a book with another. He just never was.

One night, his dad took his sister out for some father-daughter bonding. Oshitari Yuushi spent that evening in his mother's arms, crying his heart out. Though she didn't know the details of what was wrong, she could tell the up and down heaving of his chest were the heart wrenching sobs that only adults could make, and she was left to wonder when her son had stepped over the line between child and adult. Still, she could only hold her son – stroking his back, kissing his forehead, and whispering words of reassurance – like she had when he was a child, crying over his deceased puppy.

Eventually, only one lone leaf remained on the big tree outside Oshitari's window, and the air started getting nippy. The third years retired from the club activities to start vigorously studying for college entrance exams – Oshitari remembered doing that just the year prior for high school entrance exams – and the rest of the team started vying for the few open Regular spots. Atobe easily secured his spot, as did Jirou. The rest of the positions went to some second years that Oshitari vaguely remembered from middle school.

One morning, Oshitari opened his locker to find an envelope on top of his shoes. Someone had called him out after school. "Ooooo Oshitari's got an admirer!" Gakuto teased, seeing Oshitari calmly folding the letter and replacing it in the (slightly scented, he noted) envelope. "Who's it from?"

"I don't know," he replied, slipping it in his satchel and pulling out his shoes as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Are you going?" Shishido asked, seemingly a bit more concerned than Gakuto. While Gakuto was more flippant in his character, Shishido was fiercely loyal, and always threw away any letters he got without ever going to meet the sender. Shishido had always been the most callous of the bunch – he never cared if people he didn't care about got hurt.

"Yes; it would be impolite not to." Even in middle school, Oshitari had made it a habit to at least go whenever he was called for a confession. He had always tried his best to turn his admirers down gently, using whatever reason he felt would be sufficient. Maybe he could be called soft for it, but Oshitari was always very empathic towards other people, and never liked hurting those who had never wronged him. This time, especially, he knew he should go, since he had a very good reason to give.

He showed up early, so he just looked around for a bit. The particular spot his admirer had chosen was quite pretty and secluded. It was behind the science building, nestled between the building and a brick wall, populated with a lot of bushes and trees. It was definitely a spot for lovers; he could just picture himself pulling Yagyuu back here for a make out session. The unbidden thought of Yagyuu made him remember how far his boyfriend was, causing a heaviness to settle on his chest. He didn't have long to dwell on that though.

"Oshitari-san?" It was a girl. She was cute, but not really his type. "Hi."

"Hi…?" She did look somewhat familiar though – he didn't think she was in his class, but he could easily be wrong. Oshitari never made a big deal about getting to know everyone, since he figured the people he needed to know he would get to know anyway.

"Ohtori Rei, year one, class two," she said. That was why she was familiar – Ohtori's older sister had come to watch some of their games last year. He hoped she wasn't as innocent and fragile as her brother sometimes appeared.

"Ohtori-san." Sometimes, he cursed his voice for being as low and smooth as it was. Gakuto had once said it was sexy as hell, even when he was saying the most mundane things.

"I... I'm glad you came. I just wanted to know if you could, well, please go out with me." She stuttered throughout her little confession, looking everywhere except at him. It was kind of flattering and kind of cute – he wished he was dating someone like her, cute and shy and not problematic. Unfortunately, he hadn't.

Oshitari smiled. "I'm sorry," he started. "There's already someone I'm in love with, and I'd prefer being faithful to him."

"Oh!" She gasped, finally looking up at him. Her eyes were the same sparkling, innocent brown as her brother's, Oshitari noted, though her hair was a darker shade of blonde. "You're already with someone, I see, sorry, I didn't know."

"It's OK," he interrupted. "Not a lot of people know."

"Um, if you wouldn't mind, could you not tell my brother about this?" she asked, looking to her left at where the well-trimmed, yet dense bushes seemed to form a nice little resting place.

"Of course, I won't tell anyone. And good luck, Ohtori-san." So saying, he turned and left, not being particularly keen on staying in that awkward situation. Somehow, even though all he had done was turn down an admirer, Oshitari felt lighter than he had in the past few months. Maybe this episode had helped him put his relationship into the right perspective – in retrospect, this was actually the first time he had openly admitted to being in love with Yagyuu.

* * *

Uh... I blame the, "According to 20.5, he Oshitari is warm-hearted and gets teary easily." 


	22. Theme 23: candy

Title: The Second Meeting: What May Come   
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

A Regular position was never really something that Oshitari strived for as much as other club members. To him, tennis was really more of a diversion than anything else. He played doubles when he needed to, singles otherwise. He didn't care who he played with, or who they played against. That particular second year was just too easy to oust though, which was why, shortly after the Regulars for the new season had been selected, Oshitari had already booted one of them from their slots.

"So Oshitari, you gonna play singles or doubles?" Shishido asked him before class started the next day - they were in the same homeroom.

"Don't know; Coach should be telling us today at practice," he responded, flipping through the chapter they would be covering that week in math. He had a working knowledge of trig basics, but needed to refresh his memory in the many identities they'd need to memorize. Just then, the bell rang and Shishido headed back to his own seat.

It wasn't that Oshitari wasn't pleased at getting a spot on the Regulars, not at all. In fact, he was proud enough to have told his parents about it after dinner. The problem was that they'd then sat him down in the family room and brought out the expensive tea set - they only did that when they had something important and "adult" to talk about.

As they steeped the tea, his parents had expressed their concern over what he wanted to do with his life. "You're not in middle school anymore - you can't keep endlessly playing tennis," his father had said while handing him a cup of green tea. They had asked him what he wanted to do - of course, since they weren't tennis fans, they didn't quite understand that he was good enough to possibly have a future in professional tennis. Nonetheless, it was something that Oshitari himself had already pondered over - he wasn't _that _good in tennis. Atobe was. Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi, Tezuka Kunimitsu - they were, but he wasn't.

He was good in a lot of things, but there wasn't really anything that sparked his interest the way that making computer animations could keep Jirou up for hours without sleeping. "I know it may seem like you just got into high school, but university is going to come before you know it - have you thought about a major at all yet?" His mother had been honestly worried, and it only made his present situation all the more real.

Though, worst come to worst, he could always go into investment banking. It was getting to be a big and lucrative industry.

During lunch break, he went to the school's computer lab to check his email. He'd sent a message to Yagyuu after the conversation with his parents, to see if Yagyuu had any advice. There was in fact a response awaiting him - Yagyuu seemed to make a habit out of checking his email every morning before going to school. Oshitari could see him being the kind to wake up long before school started to do morning exercises and the like.

"I'm probably going to work for my dad's company." If there was anything Oshitari had noticed about Yagyuu's messages, it was that they were always concise and to the point. It was nice - there were never any word games involved. "I don't think you really have much to worry about; you're smart and are good at a lot of things. It just matters what interests you, and that will come naturally.

"By the way, what are your plans for the New Year's?" Oshitari's breath caught upon reading that last line. He also conveniently forgot everything else that had been troubling him that day. Could Yagyuu be intending to visit during the break? It was a very short time, but it could be enough. He quickly wrote a response saying that he in fact had no plans at the moment, before signing out and returning to the classroom to eat his lunch.

English was right after lunch - that particular day's class was so boring, Oshitari found himself unable to concentrate. He fought valiantly against the post-lunch sluggishness that haunted unwary students, but had to admit defeat as he slipped into the state of semi-consciousnesses between reality and dreams. Though he'd never admit it, the daydream was due more to Yagyuu's email than to some food coma.

At practice, Oshitari found himself paired with Jirou in a practice match against two non-Regular second years. It could've been worse, he figured, as he lined up at the baseline, waiting for the other team to serve. He could've been paired with Atobe, who was currently also playing doubles. Oshitari didn't know the small boy who was Atobe's partner, but felt immense pity for him. He was called back into his own game by a call of "Love all!", and directed his full attention to winning the game at hand. While the net-happy Jirou dazzling his crowd of admirers with volleys left and right, Oshitari didn't have much to do aside from getting the occasional smashes or lobs the opponents tried. That was the problem with partners like Jirou and Gakuto - they never let him get any of the balls. Unfortunately, that also left him with time to think about how set everyone else was in their future plans.

After the match, Jirou sat down next to Oshitari on the bench. "You OK?" Jirou had been doing better about not falling asleep whenever he sat down, and Oshitari had been duly surprised at the boy's observation skills - when he was awake long enough to observe something, anyway.

"Yea, fine, why?" Instead of answering, Jirou laid down on the bench, looking for all the world like he was going to take a nap. Upon closer inspection though, his eyes were still open, gazing up at the clouds.

"Oshitari, do you like candy?" It was an odd question - not to mention completely out of the blue - but Jirou asked things like that, so Oshitari just simply answered in the affirmative and waited for Jirou to finish his thought. "I wonder why people like sweet things. Marui-kun really likes sweets, and so do girls. I haven't really met many people who don't like sweets, except Atobe and Hiyoshi. People say it's taste, but aren't tastes supposed to be different?" Oshitari was confused about where Jirou was headed, but it was an interesting topic.

"My bro's graduating university this spring. He's going to be a video game programmer, isn't that awesome? I want to be like him someday. But my dad says my math isn't good enough. He says I need to work harder in school. It's hard, you know. Tastes kind of bitter, not sweet like playing tennis. Maybe that comes from chewing on my eraser." Oshitari stifled a chuckle. Jirou's words seemed to be exactly what he needed at the moment.

"I guess that's why there's different types of candy. Atobe will eat dark chocolate, if nothing else. It's too rich for me though. I guess he just likes stuff rich. I wonder if your taste in candy can tell what type of person you are." Jirou honestly looked inquisitive, eyebrows furrowed as he stared straight up. He was kind of cute, really. Oshitari could see why people found him attractive, asleep or awake.

"I'm sure you can do it, Jirou. I hear you managed to go an entire day without napping - if you can do that, you can do anything, right?" As he spoke, Oshitari realized that he was probably in a better situation than Jirou. While Jirou had a goal, he still needed to build his foundation. Oshitari had a solid foundation in all the general subjects - picking an area of concentration afterwards would just be choosing what he liked most. Maybe that was what Yagyuu had meant.

Jirou grinned up at him. "Yup! Did you know that homework actually makes sense if you listen to the day's lecture? Now I don't have to copy Atobe's notes - it makes homework go by so much faster!" Oshitari smiled. Trust Jirou to only realize in high school that note taking helped with homework. He wasn't sure if Jirou had planned the conversation, but it definitely helped lift his spirits. He'd do well in classes, like he always did, and get into a good college. By then, Yagyuu would also be back in Japan. There was a quote from an American movie that said something about how life is like a box of chocolates - "you never know what you're going to get."

"Thanks, Jirou." Whether or not Jirou had consciously chosen the particular topic was still unclear, but it didn't matter. Oshitari brushed some hair away from Jirou's forehead before giving it a light kiss. He hurried away to grab Shishido for some rally practice before Atobe could come and demand what Oshitari thought he was doing.

* * *


	23. Theme 24: good night

Title: The Second Meeting: The Friend  
This Chapter Rated: R  
Pairing: YuuTari  
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari hadn't expected Jirou to break up with Atobe. He didn't think anyone had - Atobe and Jirou were as defined an "item" as Shishido and Ohtori. When he first heard the news (the Atobe butler had come to the Oshitari household to ask for help in matters concerning the young master), his mind immediately traveled to his conversation with Jirou, trying to see if Jirou had given any clues about what he'd been planning to do. 

"Is this what it felt like when I left you?" Atobe had invited himself into Oshitari's house and room, and was currently laying face up, arms folded behind his head, on Oshitari's double-sized bed. Oshitari was surprised that Atobe didn't order moving to his room. In fact, he was surprised that Atobe had simply come over, instead of calling to demand Oshitari's presence at the Atobe mansion. It was as well they were in his room though, since he could at least do homework while tuning out Atobe when possible.

"I don't know." How was one supposed to answer a question like that? Everyone reacted differently in these situations. In all honestly, he wasn't quite sure what Atobe was feeling. He wasn't even sure which part of Atobe was hurting more - his heart or his ego.

"I really was sorry." Atobe didn't expect a response, and Oshitari didn't give him one. If experiences were any indication, Atobe didn't need his conversation right now; he just wanted companionship. Oshitari was curious as to why Atobe had come to him in particular; didn't Atobe realize the awkwardness of their position? Maybe, just maybe, Atobe really had felt something for Jirou. He couldn't imagine any other reason why this could affect Atobe so much. No one, except apparently Jirou, would ever leave Atobe - that was a fact in Atobe's mind.

After finishing two calculus problems without hearing any noise from Atobe, Oshitari turned around to see the proud boy motionless on his bed. At some point, Atobe had moved one arm to cover his eyes, and looked for all the world like he was sleeping. Oshitari decided to just leave him alone; he could always sleep in his parents' room if necessary - they were visiting a university in Kansai with his sister for the weekend. When Atobe sniffled slightly, Oshitari figured it'd be OK to pull a blanket over Atobe. As he moved to unzip Atobe's jacket though, the other boy's arm shot up to grab Oshitari's shoulder with a vise-like grip. "Atobe?"

"Yuushi," Atobe murmured, pulling Oshitari down until their faces were barely apart. "Call me Keigo." Oshitari could feel Atobe's words warm on his lips just before their lips met.

He struggled in vain to pull away, but as Atobe's right hand moved to cup his face and his left hand slid down Oshitari's body to pull his waist closer, Oshitari seemed to fall deeper and deeper into a spiraling vortex. He wanted to say something; this wasn't right! But Atobe pushed up his shirt and started playing with the muscles on Oshitari's lower back, and it just felt so good. He wanted this, and perhaps the most surprising part of it all was that it wasn't surprising at all. It seemed natural, if only because it was Atobe.

Atobe deepened the kiss, nudging his tongue between Oshitari's slighty parted ones. Oshitari didn't push him away. Instead, he climbed onto his bed, moving so that his body was covering Atobe's slightly smaller one. He slowly lowered his body until he was resting on his elbows, so close that he could feel the heat rising off of Atobe's body. His hands wrapped around Atobe's head, fingers pressing at the junction of spine and skull, causing Atobe's chin and mouth to press even harder against his own.

They broke apart, both breathing heavily. Oshitari kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see who was in front of him, not wanting to know the truth that lay in front of him. Atobe wasn't willing to give him the time he wanted though. Oshitari could feel Atobe nudging at his collar, pushing away his shirt and replacing the cloth with his mouth, sucking and tonguing at his neck. He rested his jawbone against Atobe's temple. "Keigo!" His voice sounded choked, tortured, as Atobe's hand found its way to where it didn't belong. Far from stopping Atobe though, the use of his given name only seemed to encourage him. Oshitari could feel the drawstring of his pajamas being loosened.

Somehow, he couldn't find words of protest. The rhetoric of logic that normally came so naturally evaded him, and any search attempts in the sheer physicality enveloping him were lost like static shocks in a lightning storm. No other words were spoken for the rest of the evening, civilized language forgotten in favor of more instinctive sounds. The raw light from his desk lamp recorded their forbidden movements on the wall, each frame more ephemeral than the last. There would be neither redoing nor editing in this movie.

Afterwards, as he lay facing the ceiling, Atobe asleep next to him, Oshitari found his mind drawing a blank. He couldn't think. At some point, Atobe turned over and pressed his face against Oshitari's side - he could feel the moisture along the tracks where tears had and were still silently falling. Oshitari could only pull Atobe close, shifting to embrace him, before closing his eyes and trying to sleep. To his surprise, he felt drops of liquid sliding down his own face.

* * *

Comments, errors, etc., welcome. 


	24. Theme 25: fence

Title: The Second Meeting: Cost of Silver  
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

The morning after was always the worst. No one ever knew what to do or how to behave. For Oshitari though, it wasn't just about how he ought to treat Atobe; it was also about himself, and about Yagyuu. 

So, it really was no surprise that upon waking with a warm body next to him early the next morning, Oshitari wondered why he'd gone with it. Atobe was attractive, yes, and there always is that thing about first loves, but that shouldn't have been enough to make him loose his cool. No matter what, he was still Oshitari Yuushi, by far the most rational voice on the Hyoutei team. Supposedly.

He slipped into the shower and out of the house before the other boy woke. It was illogical, really, considering what they'd already done, but he didn't want to see Atobe. Sometimes, it's just better to slip into a fantasy world and pretend that the real world doesn't exist. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times. He went on his usual early morning six mile run, mp3 player blasting hiphop music into his soul. He didn't understand why Gakuto liked the music so much and insisted that he listen to it "to get in sync", but at the moment, he didn't feel like any of his normal alternative would do him any good.

When he got home, Atobe was already gone. He didn't feel any better though, knowing that Atobe would be waiting for him at practice. It wasn't just anyone that he'd slept with. It was his friend, classmate and teammate - someone he couldn't avoid even if he wanted to, though boy, did he ever want to. Oshitari took another shower, this time just standing under the hot jet of water and letting the water turn his skin bright red. By the time he stepped out of the fully steamed up bathroom, he had to hurry to make it to school on time. For the first time in his life, model student Oshitari had to turn in half-finished homework. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any remorse about that at all.

Practice that day was particularly brutal. Atobe stood silently at the edge of the courts until Shishido practically screamed in his ear, which only prompted barked responses. Jirou stayed awake, but was clearly tired and fretful, like a child who had missed his nap. Oshitari couldn't hit a proper serve to save his life, and Gakuto's bouncing around him in circles asking what was wrong didn't help matters.

Everything exploded when a group of Atobe's fangirls decided it would be a good day to start flirting with some other tennis club memebers. To be precise, they decided it would be a good idea to flirt with Jirou. Oshitari could practically see the blood drain from Atobe's face, even though Jirou wasn't really paying any attention to them. When one of them tried to kiss Jirou's forehead though, Atobe lost it. He yelled for everyone who wasn't practicing to leave. Normally, Oshitari or Jirou would've jumped to calm him down, but this time, Atobe was left to rant and seethe until Shishido finally smacked him in the head and dragged him back to the clubroom to "talk some sense into this madman."

It was just flat out wrong. It wasn't just because they were no longer dating, or because he was technically dating someone else - it was because they were teammates and rivals and they were Hyoutei and they were Oshitari and Atobe and they were just simply two people who never should have done what they did. Somehow, he didn't think they'd ever be as close as they'd been before.

When he got home that day, Oshitari closed himself in his room. He skipped dinner, ignoring his family's persistant knocks on his door - even his mother eventually gave up.

Later that evening, Oshitari blinked a few times after waking up - apparently he'd fallen asleep in the middle of counting the little holes in his ceiling. He had to stretch a bit before he could sit up - sleeping on a tatami mat was one thing, sleeping on hardwood floorboards was a different thing entirely. He moved to his desk to do his homework - there would be no repeat of the previous day, ever, if he had anything to do with it. Sure, there was a silver lining to every cloud. His status with Atobe was no longer "uncertain". There was finally a "The End" to it. He just wondered if it may have cost more than it was worth.

Oshitari made the mistake of glancing at the calendar hanging up above his desk. A post-it note was stuck over the following Friday - it was the day Yagyuu was supposed to return to Japan for a week's visit.

* * *

Almost done! Five more... given the position we're in right now, I feel that the next theme ("if only I could make you mine") is going to be quite interesting. o.0 


	25. Theme 26: if only I could make you mine

Title: The Second Meeting: His Own Action  
Rating: PG   
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

"Are you going to tell him?" Oshitari stared straight ahead. He was so stiff, he couldn't even flinch at the underlying insinuation in Atobe's question.

"I don't know," he replied, closing the lid of his cell phone as people started appearing again from the little hallway that he knew led to customs. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for someone who ought to tower over everyone else, and sure enough, Yagyuu's brown hair and glasses appeared from behind a little old lady. He was only dragging a single suitcase, providing a stark contrast from all the families taking vacations or visiting friends and family, pushing carts piled dangerously high with luggage. Actually, Oshitari thought as Yagyuu walked up to him and threw an arm around his shoulders, Yagyuu looked like quite the businessman, and told him as much.

Yagyuu laughed, and Oshitari relaxed. Things would be OK.

They took the train back to his house, where Yagyuu would be staying for most of his visit. On the way, Yagyuu told Oshitari about his flight - each passenger had a mini TV with a small selection of movies, radio stations, and video games; Yagyuu had played Super Mario the entire three hours of the flight. The fact that there were many babies on his flight didn't help though - in particular, the one screaming next to him for at least half the flight didn't help at all.

The house was empty when they entered, since his parents had gone to visit some friends and his sister was out with her boyfriend. "What would you like to do now?" Oshitari asked after showing Yagyuu the guest room.

"Could I grab a shower?" Yagyuu asked, polite as ever. "I'm kind of tired from the flight."

"Sure," Oshitari replied, showing Yagyuu to the bathroom and point out the towels his mother had set aside for Yagyuu before closing the door behind him. He went downstairs to the kitchen, thinking that he'd make some tea for the two of them. Yagyuu had once mentioned that he liked oolong tea, so Oshitari had made a stop at the supermarket the day before to buy a canister.

Oshitari's hand shook so much as he was scooping out the tea that he had to pause and steady himself before he could continue. For some reason, Atobe's graceful hands came to mind. Atobe's hands never faltered, neither in tennis games nor in making tea nor in anything else he did, because he was just that kind of a person.

"Is everything OK?" Oshitari nearly jumped out of his skin. While he stayed in one piece, he did manage to knock over the canister of tea. A strong, slightly damp, and completely naked arm shot out around Oshitari as Yagyuu reached to steady the rolling cylinder before it hit the floor. Yagyuu's other hand rested on Oshitari's waist, preventing him from crashing too hard into Oshitari. "Careful, Yuushi." His name, practically breathed from right behind Oshitari's ear, sent shivers down his back. Oshitari could feel the heat from Yagyuu's chest through their two shirts, which certainly wasn't helping matters. He watched Yagyuu's hand set down the canister before wrapping around his waist. "Tell me what happened." The words were whispered into his hair, but they sounded as if they were shouted into his ears.

Oshitari could feel the blood drain from his face. Yagyuu knew, somehow. Did Atobe tell him? It was possible, but with Atobe, who knew. "Let's go to my room." He finished getting decent amounts of tea leaves into the teapot, which he filled from the water heater. His hand didn't shake at all. Yagyuu helped him carry the pot and two cups upstairs - it wasn't until he'd poured them each a cup of the steaming, fragrant liquid that Yagyuu sat down on his bed, scooting back until he was resting against the wall. Oshitari climbed next to him, resting his head on Yagyuu's shoulder as he told him about his first "date" with Atobe, about how Atobe had started spending more time with Jirou than with him, and how that had led to their breaking up. Yagyuu listened without interrupting, his hand stroking light patterns on Oshitari's hip.

Oshitari told him about when Jirou had told Atobe he didn't want to see him anymore, and about how Atobe had simply come over. "I thought he was asleep, so I went to put a blanket over him. Didn't realize he was still awake."

"And then he kissed you and it all went from there." Yagyuu's hand had stilled, and it seemed like he was thinking.

"Well, yes." Oshitari wanted to ask how Yagyuu knew, but at this point, he could safely assume that Atobe had told him already. There was something about the way Yagyuu spoke that was just a little off, but Oshitari couldn't tell if it was good or bad.

"I hadn't expected you to tell me, you know." Yagyuu shifted, and Oshitari sat up straight, turning to look at Yagyuu, wondering what he was supposed to say, or if he ought to say anything at all. "So tell me, Yuushi, what would you do if you were in my position?" Oshitari just didn't know. He was reminded of when he was younger and his mother used to talk to him about what he did wrong instead of yelling at him and grounding him. The only difference was, he'd always known that no matter what he did, his mother would always forgive him. That held true only for his mother though - it didn't necessarily hold true for anyone else.

His prayers seemed to have been answered when the doorbell rang. "I'm going to go get that," Oshitari muttered as he jumped off his bed and headed downstairs. The doorbell rang again - whoever it was was certainly impatient.

"Hey there." Niou's typical I'm-up-to-no-good smile greeted Oshitari as he opened the door to find the boy leaning against his wall. "I think you have something of mine."

"What?" Oshitari stared at him, confused, until a hand gently removed his own from the doorknob.

"I'm going to stay with him, actually." Oshitari slowly turned his head, not wanting to see the truth that was laid out before him. He watched as Yagyuu pushed his glasses higher up on his nose with his left hand, right hand gripping the suitcase he'd brought from China. Yagyuu leaned down just a bit - when had he grown so tall? - and touched his lips lightly to Oshitari's. It was the briefest, lightest touch Oshitari could imagine, but it seemed to have been filled with fire and electricity and ice and pain. He couldn't move as he watched Yagyuu follow Niou down to where a taxi was waiting, presumably to take them to the train station. Yagyuu didn't give any hints of wanting to turn around.

He didn't close the door until he couldn't see the car anymore - perhaps the worst part of it all was that the answer that he never gave to Yagyuu probably would have been exactly what Yagyuu ended up doing.

* * *

Finally! I've been waiting for this feeling to come back to me while writing. Sorta when the words and story just comes by itself, as opposed to thinking through every little word and every little action.

I think it's time for a countdown - 4 more. So close!


	26. Theme 27: overflow

Title: The Second Meeting: Atobe   
Rating: PG   
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari didn't even have time to consider what to say to Yagyuu before Atobe showed up at his door again. He didn't know why he caved in so easily to Atobe - the man was so his weak point - but the fact was he didn't chase after Yagyuu because Atobe was there. Atobe took him out for dinner, and without ever mentioning Yagyuu, Atobe let Oshitari know that he was the one who told. Without ever thinking over what he was doing, Oshitari wrapped an arm around Atobe and pulled him close. Somehow, Atobe's shoulders didn't seem as broad as they used to. 

"Are you mad?" The Atobe he knew would never have asked anyone that. For that matter, the Atobe he knew had never sounded so defeated. Oshitari looked straight ahead at the black screen separating them from the limo driver.

"No." He wasn't. He wasn't sure what he was, but he wasn't mad. He wasn't happy either, but wasn't that to be expected? Maybe he and Yagyuu wouldn't have worked out anyway - there was too much difference and too many unknowns and everything was just uncertain. Oshitari brushed his fingers through Atobe's perfect hair, before bringing it back to the temple and lightly rubbing the scalp.

"Life's interesting." Oshitari felt Atobe's muscles relaxing as he leaned in against Oshitari's chest. He didn't fit as well as he used to. Oshitari didn't say anything - he just rested his cheek on top of Atobe's head.

They pretended to date again for awhile, but it was clear to everyone that it wasn't going to work out. In that time though, Oshitari realized why Jirou had let Atobe go; the truth of the matter was that Atobe was one very confused person. He needed to be needed, but not in the way Jirou needed someone. Atobe needed someone stronger than him, someone who could talk back to him as an equal - not someone who'd just look up at him with adoring eyes every time he breathed. Jirou couldn't be that person, and Oshitari wasn't willing to be.

Atobe was like a man who'd lost his way in life. Even if Oshitari knew that they weren't going to work out as a couple, they were still old friends - some may call them best friends - and he worried for Atobe day and night. When they were second years, Atobe didn't show up for practice one day after a particularly brutal match against their captain the day before. Oshitari was worried, but Atobe neither answered his phone nor opened his door. He looked completely worn out in school the next day, but his eyes were shining with a light that Oshitari hadn't seen in awhile. He wondered what had happened.

Atobe spent more and more time away from home. He didn't call or demand anything from Oshitari - if Oshitari didn't know any better, he'd say that Atobe's attitude was almost apologetic. But it was Atobe Keigo he was thinking about, and Atobe was never apologetic.

"Hey Yuushi, you know what's up with Atobe-sama these days?" Calling Gakuto tactless would be a compliment, and Oshitari was sure it would get him killed one of these days.

"I heard a rumor that he's been with Rikkai's Sanada Genichi-" Ohtori started to volunteer. If it weren't for Shishido glaring at everyone who came near the boy, Oshitari would swear that Ohtori would have a lot more scars than Shishido himself. This time however, it was none other than Shishido who stopped him.

"Choutarou." It was just a word, but Ohtori immediately shut his mouth and looked at his "senpai" quizzically (Oshitari sometimes wondered if Ohtori calling him "Shishido-senpai" turned Shishido on). Oshitari looked over at Jirou, whom he found looking back at him. The other boy quickly went back to changing when he met Oshitari's eyes.

So that was it. Atobe had probably gone to Kanegawa for something, and had found what he needed in Sanada. Oshitari somehow just knew that this time, he wouldn't come back. While he was walking home from cram school one Sunday, he saw Atobe waiting outside a store. That was odd enough in itself - Atobe didn't do things like shopping in Japan, much less waiting around outside a store. He was just about to go see what he was doing when a familiar build stepped out of the store, holding a cup of coffee or something. He was quick to peg the man as the same Sanada Genichirou whom he'd first seen defeat Atobe many years ago and crossed the street to avoid them, though not before he caught Sanada lean in to give Atobe what was doubtlessly a feather light kiss. That was perhaps the first time Oshitari had let himself realize that what Atobe had done affected him more than he was willing to accept.

He wondered why he was more upset now than he was when Yagyuu broke up with him - he pretty much knew that he and Atobe weren't going to work out, so it wasn't surprising or anything. Maybe it was because he knew he didn't do anything wrong to Atobe, whereas Yagyuu had every right to call it off. Maybe it was because he had Atobe to worry over then, whereas he didn't have anything now. Maybe it was because all Yagyuu had been was a substitute for Atobe - but he didn't think that was true.

"Yuushi." He turned around, and saw Atobe and Sanada standing right behind him. Apparently he wasn't quite a master at disappearing yet.

"Atobe. Sanada-san." He didn't really want to talk to them, even though it seemed like he wouldn't be able to avoid it.

"Oshitari." Sanada looked like he was going to say more, but stopped. Oshitari saw Atobe nudge Sanada, who just looked up at the red and orange sunset-painted sky.

Sometimes, he wondered why it was people like Sanada and Atobe and Tezuka and them who managed to have everything, even though they seemed like they didn't care about anything. Looking at Atobe's face right then, though, he was suddenly reminded of one of his childhood visits to the Atobe household, when he'd naively asked if Atobe had parents. Oshitari didn't want to think about that now. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get home for dinner." He turned around and was starting to walk away when Sanada finally found his voice.

"Yagyuu's still studying for Tokyo U's entrance exam."

Without stopping, Oshitari called his reply over his shoulder. "Then you can tell him that I am also." He didn't want them to see the smile that he was having difficulty keep off his face.

* * *

I know it seems a bit fast paced now, and I'll continue barreling through maybe half the next theme also, but I wanted to get past this Atobe business. Totally starting to feel my style cramped by the themes - next time, remind me not to do 30 themes in order. .; 


	27. Theme 28: Wada Calcium CD3

Title: The Second Meeting: You're Mine  
Rating: PG  
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari looked at the text message on his cell phone and sighed. His mother had broken her foot while doing yard work and Keiko was away in Kyushu, so he was now stuck doing the groceries. The message was his mother, asking him to get something called Wada Calcium CD3, whatever that was. He shifted the bags from his left hand to his right, and turned around to head back to the pharmacy. 

Oshitari froze as he opened the door to the pharmacy. The ringing of the little bell over his head alerted the two people talking at the counter to his presence. One of them straightened and slowly but surely brought a hand up to his face. The man's clear green eyes flashed for a second, as if he were annoyed at wanting to push up glasses that were no longer there. "Oshitari."

The voice was slightly deeper and more mature than the voice Oshitari knew, but it was still the same as the voice that haunted his memories. He winced inwardly upon hearing his family name from it. "Hi." He didn't know what else to say. Unnerved, he went to find the calcium pill thing that his mother wanted. Yagyuu was still at the counter when he made his purchase, and as he left the pharmacy, bell ringing again as he opened the door, he could hear Yagyuu follow him out.

"Let me help with that." Oshitari stiffened when Yagyuu's hand brushed against his as Yagyuu took some of the bags from his hand. Their eyes met, and Oshitari quickly looked away. Why was he so nervous still around Yagyuu? It had been years since they'd last seen each other; an ex shouldn't have that effect on him still. Plus, Oshitari was about to start college in a few days - he was an adult now, and things like ex's from one's teenage years didn't bother adults. Just then, Oshitari realized why Yagyuu was back in Japan.

"Did you get into Tokyo U?" Oshitari didn't know what he wanted the answer to be. He had gotten in, as had Atobe, but Atobe was going to go to college overseas. Surprisingly enough, Sanada was also going to go abroad, with Atobe, for college. The two had been in a strong on-again, off-again relationship throughout their second half of high school, and it certainly seemed like it'd continue onward. Oshitari was planning on going to Tokyo, though.

"Yes - you?" Yagyuu's voice held something - perhaps it was hope, perhaps it was just a receding cold. Oshitari sucked in a breath, and slowly nodded. "Congratulations, then."

"You too," Oshitari quickly responded. They walked in silence for awhile, and Oshitari wondered what the hell was happening. "Are your parents still in China?"

"My dad is - he's going to be there for another year - but my mom's back in Kanagawa."

"Oh." Yagyuu asked him then about school, and about Japan, and they just made small talk the rest of the way back to Oshitari's house. "Mom?" The house was silent when Oshitari opened the door; he assumed his mother was probably sleeping upstairs.

"Where should I put this?" Yagyuu followed Oshitari into the house, changing into the slippers that Oshitari gave him. Oshitari showed him towards the kitchen.

"Anywhere's fine - thanks for the help. Could I uh, get you some tea or something?" Oshitari set down the bags that he was holding and opened up the cabinet where his father kept the tea. He felt Yagyuu's breath on his neck before he actually felt Yagyuu upon him.

"Green tea will be fine, thanks." Oshitari's eyes closed for the briefest of moments when Yagyuu's words tickled his nape. "Tell, me, Oshitari, why didn't you ever contact me?"

"My understanding, Yagyuu, was that we were over." Oshitari grabbed two tea bags and two cups - his family had switched to the bagged stuff after finding out that they didn't taste too different from leaves, but were much cheaper. He didn't want this, did he? He didn't want to deal with Yagyuu again. He'd been fine the past two years, and he'd be fine in college without Yagyuu. They'd both be meeting new people and it just simply wasn't the right time for things, and definitely not for them.

"No, Yuushi, _I_ never wanted that. _You_ threw it away, but I'm going to keep coming after you until I get what I want." Yagyuu pulled the tea bags out of Oshitari's hand and pulled him around until they were facing each other, Oshitari leaning painfully back against the countertop to get as much distance between Yagyuu and himself as possible. "When Niou told me that Atobe was going out with Sanada, I called him to check that it was true. I told him that I would keep aiming for Tokyo, and if he could, to pass that message on to you. When he told me what you'd said, I took it as a promise and treated it as such." With each word, Yagyuu's head moved ever so slightly forward, and Oshitari's head moved ever so slightly backwards, until he finished speaking and their noses were touching and Oshitari was bent so far over the counter that his head was pressing into the cabinet doors.

"Do you get it, Yuushi? I love you. I can't get you out of my mind. I don't know what you've done to me or why I'm willing to forgive what you did, but I. Want. You."

Oshitari couldn't do anything but nod his head slightly as his eyes searched Yagyuu's, looking for something, anything that wasn't the tempest of raw emotion staring back at him. His heart was pounding so fast he was sure Yagyuu could feel it through their chests and the thin shirts that were separating them. His mouth moved, but no sounds came out. He wasn't sure what he was trying to say anyway, but it didn't matter then because Yagyuu's own mouth pressed forward, as Yagyuu tilted his head and claimed the lips he hadn't kissed in years.

"Hiroshi," Oshitari whispered when their lips parted briefly as Yagyuu lifted him so that he was sitting on the countertop. His arms wrapped around Yagyuu's head as Yagyuu's hands held onto his waist.

"You're mine, OK?" Yagyuu's grip tightened almost painfully, but Oshitari didn't care enough to wince. "I'm not letting you go again."

"Yes." He leaned down, sealing their promise with another kiss.

* * *

Two more! Shoujo as all heck, but who cares. P Boys can get angsty and possesive too. o.0 At least, they can in this world. 

Review please? I'm getting over 15 more hits on chapters 20+, each, than I am reviews...(sad) Thanks for reading, in any case. :D


	28. Theme 29: the sound of the waves

Title: The Second Meeting: Of Stars and Silence  
Rating: PG   
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Oshitari thought pure silence was one of the loudest, scariest things he'd ever heard. It wasn't as though he got the chance to hear it much, given that Tokyo was ranked third in the world for highest population density. Right now though, he was out of the city with some college friends, and it was deathly silent on the roofless porch outside the cabin they'd rented. His friends were inside, most likely sleeping and resting for the hike they had planned for the next morning. He couldn't sleep though - not alone in the master bedroom with Yagyuu sleeping next to him on the same queen sized bed that their friends had insisted they share, doubtlessly just to see Oshitari's reaction.

"What's wrong?" Yagyuu's voice startled him. Oshitari looked up to see Yagyuu standing almost right next to him, watching him with a sleepy smile. Yagyuu was only wearing a tank top and shorts, which, incidentally, was one of the factors that caused Oshitari's insomnia.

"Nothing; I'm just not that tired."

"Liar. You were yawning all throughout dinner." Yagyuu sat down next to him, leaning backwards until his legs were fully stretched out and his head was resting on his cupped hands. "So what's up?"

"Have you ever tried counting the stars?" Oshitari knew he was dodging the question, but for some reason, his poker face was eluding him and he just couldn't put up his front. It wasn't like that would've mattered though - Yagyuu was the first and only person who had mastered the act of reading right through it. Oshitari had given up wearing his glasses after that incident also - after all, it wasn't like he needed them, and they weren't of any use when Yagyuu could see right past it all anyway.

"Wanna try right now?" Yagyuu's response surprised him. Oshitari turned, sitting so that he was facing Yagyuu.

"Are you serious?" He could barely see an outline of Yagyuu's face. It was a new moon, and the only light around for miles was a kiss of fluorescent between the blinds of the bathroom window - they'd left that light on in case anyone needed to get up at night. Oshitari had long since memorized every aspect of Yagyuu's face though, so it wasn't like the lack of light mattered.

"Yes. If you can't sleep, I can't either. We've got nothing better to do then, right?" Yagyuu smiled knowingly. Oshitari wondered if Yagyuu knew the actual reason for why he couldn't sleep.

Instead of bringing up the topic though, he just turned again and lay down next to Yagyuu. Yagyuu pulled him closer, such that his ear was pressed into Yagyuu's chest. He heard the ocean there, like when you put a seashell to your ear and you can hear the crashing of the waves inside the tiny little shell. He wondered if they could really tame all the waves that life would continue throwing at them, but decided it didn't matter as he looked up at the sky and started counting the stars, starting from the lower left corner of the sky.

Awhile later, the soft, up and down motion of Yagyuu's chest started getting to him, and Oshitari felt his eyelids getting heavy. "How many do you have?"

"Ninety-three. You?"

"I forget." He yawned and closed his eyes. It was getting kind of cold, even with Yagyuu's warm body pressed against his side. He felt Yagyuu's chuckle more than he heard it.

"Let's go to bed. We'll catch a cold out here." Yagyuu sat up slowly, pulling Oshitari along with him. Oshitari climbed to his feet awkwardly and leaned against Yagyuu as they walked back to their room and all but fell into bed.

"Love you," he murmured, turning to face the wall as he felt Yagyuu climb in on the other side and pull the covers over them. He didn't think the other man heard, until Yagyuu rolled over behind him and slid an arm over Oshitari's waist, resting his head over Oshitari's own.

"Love you too."

The sound of their slow breathing was quieter than the pure silence outside.

* * *

Oh c'mon, every couple has to have their "let's count the stars" memory. . whistles Comments/critiques?

Anyway, only one more!


	29. Theme 30: kiss

Title: The Second Meeting: Ever After  
Rating: PG  
Pairing: YuuTari   
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

* * *

Halfway through their second year of college, Yagyuu asked Oshitari if he wanted to share an apartment. "It's really a matter of economic practicality." Yagyuu was an economics major, and he knew how to calculate things like that. It made sense to Oshitari though - Yagyuu was living in the dorms, which were both uncomfortable and pricey. He was living at home, which was tough on his commute and just plain annoying. 

He told himself that was why he'd agreed to it, but now, as they were looking at apartments and trying to figure out which one would be the most practical, Oshitari wasn't so sure it was a good idea anymore. He hadn't considered that while some things may be easier, other things would be more difficult. They'd have to cook, for instance. They'd also have to get furniture and all that good stuff, and Oshitari just wasn't sure he wanted to start doing that with his _boyfriend_ just then. Any other roommate or friend would've been just fine, but it was awkward since Yagyuu wouldn't be "just" a roommate. Oshitari wasn't even sure if Yagyuu wanted to stay in the same room or different rooms, but he was certain it'd be awkward either way.

In any case, they'd spent their spare time together the past several weeks looking at ads and asking friends for suggestions. They were currently standing in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment with the agent, looking at the facilities and discussing the rental price.

"Would you mind leaving us alone for a bit?" Oshitari was surprised at hearing the words coming out of his own mouth. It was a nice apartment though, perfect for if they were going to live together - no, "be roommates." There was a line between "living together" and "being roommates" that Oshitari didn't want to cross just yet.

"Certainly. Take your time; I'll be waiting in the hallway." The agent, a pleasant woman in her mid-forties, stepped out of the apartment and pulled the door closed behind her. It was just the two of them standing in the empty room now, and Oshitari wasn't sure exactly how to start the conversation.

"I like it." Yagyuu's statement was very matter-of-fact. His soft tone was the only thing indicative of the fact that he was talking to his boyfriend, not just a roommate-to-be. Oshitari felt somewhat relieved by this.

"Yea, me too - it's close to campus, clean, and affordable." Usually, Oshitari waited until he was completely certain before doing anything - even Ohtori's patience and intelligence hadn't yet beaten him at chess. He liked thinking down every branch of possibilities to a large action before making it, figuring out if the move was worth it and what follow-up moves were necessary to achieve the best results. For some reason though, today, he felt more adventurous and ready to jump without first thinking through every possible consequence. Oshitari looked around the room again, eyes resting on the small balcony outside the living room.

"Shall we start the paperwork, then?" Yagyuu was smart. He put the final decision on Oshitari.

Oshitari paused, wondering what to say. It would be nice to be on his own - he was a second year at Tokyo University, after all. It was strange to think that he still relied on his parents for the roof over his head. The commute really would be a lot shorter, too. Yagyuu pressed two fingers lightly against Oshitari's chin, turning his head until they were looking directly at each other. Oshitari could see certainty in Yagyuu's eyes. Yagyuu knew what he wanted, and he was clearly just waiting for Oshitari. There was security in his face, also - a guarantee that everything would be OK, no matter what Oshitari's answer was. "Yea. Sounds good." Oshitari could feel the corners of his mouth turning upwards. Yagyuu smiled back at him, and he knew it'd all be OK.

When they told the agent that they would take it, she beamed at them. "Great! I know you'll love it. Come this way, and we'll get started with the paperwork, OK?" She started walking towards the staircase. Oshitari slipped a hand into Yagyuu's before following.

A month later, Oshitari finished moving in the last of his boxes. His father rose from where he was resting on the new (used) couch - they'd spent the entire day moving things from the house to the apartment, and it had taken its toll on the older man. "Well, Yuushi, I guess I'll be going now." In the dying sun, his father looked older, more refined, with more silver hairs sprinkled in among the blue. It was appropriate that Oshitari be moving out of the house - he wasn't a kid anymore.

He nodded, and stuck his hand out awkwardly. "Thanks, Dad." His father took his hand, shaking it firmly. Oshitari noted how his hand didn't seem as large as it used to, back when he was hanging tightly onto merely two of his dad's fingers because he couldn't wrap his hand around his father's entire palm.

"You're welcome home anytime, son. We're just a bus ride away." Releasing Oshitari's hand, his father walked out the door, just in time to meet Yagyuu coming in with some groceries. Yagyuu had finished moving his stuff from his dorm the previous day, and so had gone to buy some of the things they'd need to start living on their own.

"Oshitari-san." Yagyuu nodded at Oshitari's dad, hands too full to shake his hand. Oshitari's dad just smiled at the boy, unable to say anything, before walking away. Yagyuu kicked the door closed behind him, dropping off the groceries on the kitchen counter. He walked over to where Oshitari was just standing in the living room, staring blankly at the boxes piled on the floor. Yagyuu put an arm around Oshitari's waist. "You OK?"

"Yea, yea, fine." Oshitari shook his head and blinked, as if to dispel whatever thoughts had been floating before his eyes. "Shall we start with dinner?"

Yagyuu smiled as he nodded. Oshitari knew everything would work out, as Yagyuu leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

_--The End--_

* * *

Comments/critiques/just let me know you've read it even if you hate it - am happy that it's complete, despite the fact that the ending didn't quite turn out precisely how I'd envisioned it 

Ho hum. Sure beats me how apartments and the like work in Japan; this is based on ... my imagination, really. .; I live in a dorm. Sorry if it's inaccurate. /_  
_


End file.
